Exploring microRNA::Target regulatory interactions by computing technologies

Abstract

MiRNA genes (miRNA precursor genes) share some common structural elements with protein genes. As with protein genes, the promoters of miRNA genes are necessary to regulate the expression of miRNA. The computation methods used to find the promoter regions of the protein genes have been applied to miRNA genes and some methods have been designed specifically to find the promoter regions of miRNA genes. The transcription factors (TFs), miRNA, and the targeted genes can form complex regulatory networks in the cells that can be divided into circuits. The miRNA-mediated feed-forward loop (FFL) is the most commonly encountered circuit. The miRNAs can also regulate targeted genes in a collaborative way. Some tools to study these circuits are discussed in this chapter as are some examples of their use.