RNA from "supporting role" into a "hero"
08 years http://www.sina.com.cn 2009 on 10 day Zhejiang Daily 04:48
A world of life science sector, "Olympic" - a 6-day International Biochemical Congress in 2009 just in the Huangpu River in Pudong of Shanghai International Convention Center end. Including four Nobel Prize winners at home and abroad, including more than 3,000 lives of the top scientists, discussed at the meeting of nature shows to us, previously unknown complex and sophisticated life.

"Omnipotent cells" to solve problems

August 7, the International Biochemical Congress, "the finale show" a grand stage: stem cells "a magician", Professor at the University of Kyoto, Japan, the mountains stretching indemnity for a theme of the General Assembly for a final report on their own how to take the lead in the world to human skin cells into a universal cell.

Cells are the basic unit of life, and was known as the "universal cell" of stem cells is the most important in human cells. In 2007, the mountains stretching indemnity and Zhejiang Chinese nationality British women scientists Yu-Jun, respectively, in the "cell" and "Science" magazine published papers, announced the success of the human skin cells into embryonic stem cells similar to the "universal cell" - induced pluripotent stem cells ( iPS, also known as skin stem cells), one source of stem cells to solve the biggest problem.

The birth of the skin stem cells in stem cell research have a significant milestone in the field. In theory, scientists in future as long as a person from any of them the next little bit of scratch dander (skin cells), spread in Petri dishes, the bleeding can be cultured cells, brain cells and even the bones, visceral organs, thereby using to replace their own diseases or aging tissues and organs, to achieve self-repair in human organs.

Major role in small RNA

A long time, have the genetic information of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), in the field of biochemical research has been to occupy a central position. And RNA (ribonucleic acid), is responsible for only a DNA contained in the genetic information to proteins, "messenger" - an obscure, "a supporting role."

However, the end of the human genome project, it is found that the gene encoding the protein of the total genome of about 2%. The human genome and account for 95% of the non-coding sequences was a large amount of non-coding RNA source, these non-coding regulatory RNA to serve as the main role of apoptosis in cell differentiation, biological development, diseases, and so play an important role.

In fact, RNA is more ancient than the DNA, it formed the first life on Earth. The early origins of life, not by the nucleic acid encoding the protein, the composition of life by the RNA, which is known as the "RNA world." RNA both to carry genetic information, but also to assume the role of catalytic molecules to participate in their own copy. Although the subsequent emergence of DNA, but RNA still bear a lot of regulation and control functions.

Online insects found in a small RNA (miRNA) - let-7 RNA, regulation of biological RNA is a prominent representative of the development. Online insect larvae it 3 / 4 there, which one might be inhibited, such as Lin-41 protein expression, while the lifting of the Lin-29 protein expression inhibition, so that entering the adult stage nematodes. Once one of its base mutation, would enable the nematodes remaining in the larval stage, and can not mature.

Another is a fee on behalf of Eritrea and Mello found that double-stranded RNA can trigger RNA interference - small interfering RNA in the cytoplasm in the regulation of protein biosynthesis, DNA in the nucleus lead to the methylation, which caused one of epigenetics series of changes can be described as "the right to re-power."

RNA regulation and control functions but are not limited to small molecule RNA, the ability to control large-scale RNA not a sign of weakness. There is a female cells for up to 10,000 nucleotides XistRNA, will eventually help women in one chromosome was closed, so that male and female X chromosome expression of the gene encoding the same.

RNA regulation and control has a huge family, so far known to have a small reading frame RNA, imprinting RNA, micro-satellite RNA, reverse transcription, RNA and so on ... ...

Desperate not to allow terminally ill

Now, scientists have a new understanding of RNA. RNA from a "supporting role" into the "protagonist", as with the human genome project to match one of the major achievements. Among them, the shorter the length of the small RNA research, academia has become a concern is the "star."

Research on small RNA the authority of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Faculty of Medicine, Professor Victor Ambrose pointed out in the report, in recent years, research results show that the human genome in about one-third of the genes responsible for protein synthesis is controlled by micro-RNA, if the two small RNA from the deletion of the human genome, leukemia occurs. In addition, studies have shown that micro-RNA also, and AIDS, leukemia, diabetes, and other diseases related to abnormal.

Although scientists have discovered that small RNA less than 10 years, but scientists believe that through the small RNA and its role in the clinical treatment of further study, the human will be able to find control of AIDS, leukemia and other diseases, drugs and methods.