Control of body growth by miRNA


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate many physiological processes including body growth. Insulin/IGF signalling is the primary regulator of animal body growth, but the extent to which miRNAs act in insulin-producing cells (IPCs) is unclear.
Scientists identify miR-9a as an evolutionarily conserved regulator of insulin signalling and body growth.
IPC-specific miR-9a overexpression reduces insulin signalling and body size. Of the predicted targets of miR-9a, authors find that loss of miR-9a enhances the level of sNPFR1.
They show that miR-9a binds to sNPFR1 mRNA in insect cells and to the mammalian orthologue NPY2R in rat insulinoma cells.
These findings indicate that the conserved miR-9a regulates body growth by controlling sNPFR1/NPYR-mediated modulation of insulin signalling.
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150703/ncomms8693/full/ncomms8693.html
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