MicroRNA sponges: Progress and possibilities
Open accessAbstract
The microRNA (miRNA) "sponge" method was introduced three years ago as a means to create continuous miRNA loss of function in cell lines and transgenic organisms. Sponge RNAs contain complementary binding sites to a miRNA of interest, and are produced from transgenes within cells. As with most miRNA target genes, a sponge's binding sites are specific to the miRNA seed region, which allows them to block a whole family of related miRNAs. This transgenic approach has proven to be a useful tool to probe miRNA functions in a variety of experimental systems. Here we will discuss the ways sponge and related constructs can be optimized and review recent applications of this method with particular emphasis on stable expression in cancer studies and in transgenic animals.
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Using decoy or sponge-like constructs for miRNA inhibition has been shown to bind complementary miRNA(s) or their seed sequences and block their effects.
“Using decoy or sponge-like constructs for miRNA inhibition have been already shown before with good effect in binding to its complementary miRNA(s) or their seed sequences and blocking their effects (29–31, 56, 57).”
From Potential Therapeutic Effects of Exosomes Packed With a miR-21-Sponge Construct in a Rat Model of Glioblastoma (2019) · cites this paper as [56]
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- Authors
- Ebert, M. S., & Sharp, P. A.
- Affiliations
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research At MIT (US)
- Venue
- RNA
- Publisher
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
- Published
- 2010-09-20
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 2043-2050
- ISSN
- 1355-8382 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-9001
- PMC
- PMC2957044
- OpenAlex
- W2044601473
- Cited by
- 762
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 58 · 2020: 55 · 2019: 73 · 2018: 45 · 2017: 55 · 2016: 52 · 2015: 67 · 2014: 56 · 2013: 45 · 2012: 41
- FWCI
- 3.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- RNA (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- U.S. Public Health Service (P30-CA14051, R01CA133404)
- National Cancer Institute (R01CA133404, CA14051, P30CA014051, P30-CA-14051)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › MicroRNA in disease regulation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA Interference and Gene Delivery
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research
- Keywords
- microRNA sponge, miRNA seed region, transgenic animals, stable expression, cancer cell lines, microRNA function
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Gene Expression Regulation, Humans, Gene Transfer Techniques, Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques, MicroRNAs
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