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. 2019 Oct 17;11(10):1580. doi: 10.3390/cancers11101580

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© 2019 by the authors.

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Schematic representation of microRNAs (miRNA) biogenesis and mode of action. Transcription of a miRNA gene is mostly conducted by RNA Polymerase II (pri-miRNA), followed by processing via Drosha/DGCR8 complex into a precursor hairpin miRNA (pre-miRNA). After nuclear export via Exportin 5/RanGTP, the pre-miRNA is processed by Dicer/TRBP into a miRNA duplex without hairpin. One strand of the mature RNA duplex associates with the Argonaut/RISC complex and guides the whole complex to the target mRNA (violet). Consequences of miRNA binding to the mRNA target are translational repression, destabilization or degradation of the target mRNA.