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MicroRNAs can generate thresholds in target gene expression

Open access
Mukherji, Shankar, Ebert, Margaret S, Zheng, Grace X Y, Tsang, John S, Sharp, Phillip A, van Oudenaarden, Alexander·2011·Nature Genetics

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, highly conserved noncoding RNA molecules that repress gene expression in a sequence-dependent manner. We performed single-cell measurements using quantitative fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry to monitor a target gene's protein expression in the presence and absence of regulation by miRNA. We find that although the average level of repression is modest, in agreement with previous population-based measurements, the repression among individual cells varies dramatically. In particular, we show that regulation by miRNAs establishes a threshold level of target mRNA below which protein production is highly repressed. Near this threshold, protein expression responds sensitively to target mRNA input, consistent with a mathematical model of molecular titration. These results show that miRNAs can act both as a switch and as a fine-tuner of gene expression.

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Metadata

Authors
Mukherji, S., Ebert, M. S., Zheng, G. X. Y., Tsang, J. S., Sharp, P. A., & van Oudenaarden, A.
Venue
Nature Genetics
Published
2011-08-21
Volume
43
Issue
9
Pages
854-859
ISSN
  • 1061-4036 (ISSN-L)
  • 1546-1718
OpenAlex
W2143145944
Cited by
632
References
28
FWCI
19.82
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: MicroRNAs can generate thresholds in target gene expression. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1038/ng.905
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Mukherji, S., Ebert, M. S., Zheng, G. X. Y., Tsang, J. S., Sharp, P. A., & van Oudenaarden, A. (2011). MicroRNAs can generate thresholds in target gene expression. Nature Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.905

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