Role of miRNA 383 in regulating the mitochondrial machinery and carcinogenesis

Abstract

MicroRNAs are a class of small non-coding RNAs, which regulate the expression pattern of various genes in a mechanism similar to RNAi. Along with their importance in normal physiology, microRNAs play crucial role in cancer initiation and progression. Various microRNAs have been reported to be associated with the important hallmarks of the cancer including altered mitochondrial machinery. With our in-silico analysis we found that miR 383 has targets on crucial mitochondrial genes involved in electron transport chain. So, next we checked the role of miR 383 in modulation of the mitochondrial machinery and effect of this alteration in the process of carcinogenesis. The results suggested that miR 383 contribute to carcinogenesis, possibly by modulating the mitochondrial machinery via targeting ND4L and ATP6 genes involved in the complex 1 & 5 of electron transport chain.