Non-coding RNAs and Disease Flashcards
What is the significance of non-coding RNAs and disease?
Directly involved in disease development and progression (disease associated SNPs sit in regions with lots of ncRNAs)
Can be therapeutic targets (miRNAs)
Can be biomarkers for diagnosis of disease
Nobel prize for medicine 2006
How does the discovery of non-coding RNA contradict the central dogma?
Non-coding RNA does not encode for active protein molecules, instead they have an important role in maintaining normal development and function of cells
What are the two classes of non-coding RNA?
Small (tRNA, snoRNA, miRNA) and long (XIST, HOTAIR, H19, snoRNA-IncRNA)
What is the function of transfer RNA (tRNA) and what role does it play in disease?
Carry amino acids to message RNA in order to translate it to a protein
tRNA is often found in mitochondrial genome and so is involved in the maternally inherited MELAS syndrome
What is the function of small nuclear RNAs (snoRNA)?
Modify ribosomes by sticking amino acids together. The region of chromosome lost in Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes contains lots of snoRNAs
What is the function of micro RNAs (miRNA)?
Repress the translation/altering the stability of the messenger RNAs that they bind to. They are involved with cancer, Down Syndrome and alzheimers
What does X-inactive specific transcript (XIST) do?
Methylates and turns off the X-chromosome in the cell. Errors can cause X-linked diseases (haemophilia)
What does HOX transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR) do?
Regulates messenger RNA by methylation. Is associated with breast cancer metastasis
What does H19 do?
Regulates insulin growth factor. Involved in lots of diseases: Wilm’s tumour, Beckwith-Weidemann syndrome
What does snoRNA-IncRNA do?
Mops up FOX2 to cause changes in genes important in the brain-also relates to Prader-Willi syndrome
