MicroRNAs and Nutrition
Ece Sarı1, Oytun Erbaş1,2
1ERBAS Institute of Experimental Medicine, Illinois, USA & Gebze, Turkey
2Department of Physiology, Medical Faculty of Demiroğlu Bilim University, Istanbul, Turkey
Keywords: microRNA, nutrition, polyphenol
Abstract
A micro RNA (miRNA) is a small noncoding RNA molecule with highly conserved regions among species. miRNA is responsible for gene silencing through targeting messenger RNA (mRNA). More than 60% of the proteins coded by the human genome are said to be regulated by miRNA. Since miRNA has so many functions, its dysregulation causes a variety of diseases. With the progress of nutriepigenomics, the relationship between diet and epigenetic regulation factors like miRNA is becoming clearer every day. Many natural compounds have been shown to influence miRNA expression in studies. Polyphenols are the most investigated chemicals that have a positive or negative impact on miRNA expression. The use of natural compounds to regulate miRNA is a promising therapeutic agent. While miRNA was once thought to be only synthesized endogenously, it is now thought that miRNA can be obtained from dietary sources such as cow milk and rice. Food-based miRNA consumption is crucial for unlocking new possibilities in miRNA control and disease treatment.
Cite this article as: Sarı E, Erbaş O. MicroRNAs and Nutrition. JEB Med Sci 2021;2(2):163-169.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.