Fig. 1.

A schematic diagram illustrating how miRNAs can potentially modulate (Fos) mRNA degradation and translation through interactions with the 3′ UTR. (Step 1) miR-7b brings about a cessation in the translation of Fos mRNA after its base pair binding to conserved sequences within the 3′ UTR. (Step 2) miRNA targeting of AREs has been shown to be an essential step in ARE-mediated mRNA degradation. (Step 3) miRNA-induced mRNA degradation may be prevented by binding of HuR (an ARE-binding protein), which displaces the miRNA-repressing complex.