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. 2021 Aug 3;11:704664. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.704664

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Copyright © 2021 Soares, Guerreiro, Cruz-Martins, Faria, Baylina, Sales, Correa-Duarte and Fernandes

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Simplified overview of the canonical and non-canonical miRNA biogenesis pathways. MiRNA generated by canonical pathway is transcribed by RNA polymerase II to a primary transcript called pre-miRNA. Subsequently, this structure is processed into the nucleus by DGCR8/Drosha complex; producing the pre-miRNA, which is exported to the cytoplasm by exportin-5. In the cytoplasm, pre-miRNA is cleaved by RNase III endonuclease (Dicer protein), resulting in a double stranded miRNA, which contains the mature miRNA. After, double strand is separated by helicases and create the mature miRNA; on the contrary, in non-canonical pathways, miRNA located within of mirtrons and are associated with spliceosome-dependent mechanisms. After, the mature miRNA produced by different pathways enters into the RISC complex and regulated genes through messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation and mRNA translation repression.