MicroRNAs Play a Role in Blood Cell Formation, Study Finds
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Dec. 4, 2003) — Scientists have been fascinated by miRNAs ever since the abundance of these tiny RNAs was discovered in 2001. Rather than code for proteins, miRNAs serve as regulators that turn protein-coding genes off.
Now, new studies by scientists at Whitehead Institute
for Biomedical Research are offering insight into the
role miRNAs play in mammalian development. Researchers
in the labs of Harvey
Lodish and David
Bartel have identified three miRNAs that seem to
be involved in hematopoiesis—the process that
leads to the creation of new blood cells. The work suggests
other miRNAs may have similar developmental roles.
The study appears this week on Sciencexpress, a Web site
featuring select papers slated for publication in an
upcoming print edition of the journal Science. |
