The expanding role of miR-302-367 in pluripotency and reprogramming.

Overview

MicroRNA (miRNA) has been shown to be essential for regulating cell fate and pluripotency; however, our knowledge of miRNA function in stem cells is incomplete due to experimental limitations and difficulties in identifying their physiological targets. Recent studies implicated hESC-expressed miRNAs (miR‑302-367 and miR‑371-373 clusters) in regulating BMP signaling and promoting pluripotency, suggesting that low levels of BMP signaling may promote pluripotency by preventing neural induction. A comprehensive list of miR‑302-367 targets recently identified by genome-wide approaches suggests a number of additional cellular processes and signaling pathways whose regulation by miR‑302-367 may promote pluripotency and reprogramming, such as cell cycle, epigenetic changes, metabolism and vesicular transfer.