miRNA
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Genetics
| Stands for | MicroRNA |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
miRNA stands for MicroRNA, a genetics abbreviation.
Tiny non-coding RNA, about 22 nucleotides long, that fine-tunes gene activity by binding partially matching sequences in messenger RNAs and reducing their translation or stability. Humans have roughly 2,000 miRNAs, which together influence most protein-coding genes; misregulation contributes to cancer and other diseases.
Example: Circulating miRNA levels in blood are being studied as early markers of heart damage.
Usage notes
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun discovered the first microRNA, lin-4, in the worm C. elegans in 1993 and received the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. MicroRNAs are named with numbers such as miR-21 and catalogued in the miRBase database. Also written miR in gene names.
Related abbreviations
More genetics abbreviations
- kb – Kilobase
- LD – Linkage disequilibrium
- lncRNA – Long non-coding RNA
- LOD – Logarithm of the odds (score)
- MAF – Minor allele frequency
- Mb – Megabase
- mtDNA – Mitochondrial DNA
- ncRNA – Non-coding RNA
- NGS – Next-generation sequencing
- NHEJ – Non-homologous end joining
- ORF – Open reading frame
- PAM – Protospacer adjacent motif