-Review-

Basic and Clinical Studies on Functional RNA Molecules for Advanced Medical Technologies

Toshihiro Takizawa¹, Akihiko Gemma², Kumiko Ui-Tei³, Yasunori Aizawa⁴, Yoel Sadovsky⁵, John M. Robinson⁶, Masahiro Seike² and Koichi Miyake⁷

¹Division of Molecular Medicine and Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School
²Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Infection Diseases and Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School
³Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo
⁴Center for Biological Resources and Informatics, Tokyo Institute of Technology
⁵Magee-Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, USA
⁶Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Ohio State University, USA
⁷Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, and Division of Gene Therapy Research Center for Advanced Medical Technology, Nippon Medical School

Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) are functional RNA molecules that have recently emerged as important regulators of gene expression at the posttranscriptional or translational level. The RNA interference effects of siRNA on gene expression make it a valuable research tool for knocking down the expression of genes in mammalian cells in vitro and in vivo enabling the elucidation of molecular mechanisms underlying human diseases. Endogenous miRNAs are involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes in humans. In this mini-review we first address the synthesis, mechanisms of action, and functions of siRNAs. Then, we focus on recent advances and technologies in miRNA and protein research of the human placenta. Next, we discuss the clinical applications of miRNA in lung cancer. We also touch on "long" noncoding RNAs from intergenic regions of the human genome. This review article is based on a presentation given at a symposium entitled Basic and Clinical Studies on Functional RNA Molecules for Advanced Medical Technologies held at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, Japan, on November 7, 2009.

J Nippon Med Sch 2010; 77: 71-79

Keywords
small interfering RNA, microRNA, noncoding RNA, placenta, lung cancer

Correspondence to
Toshihiro Takizawa, Division of Molecular Medicine and Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8602, Japan
t-takizawa@nms.ac.jp

Received, February 9, 2010
Accepted, March 2, 2010