Small RNAs articles from across Nature Portfolio

DICER1 is often mutated in cancer, including in DICER1-related tumour predisposition. Here, the authors show that cancer-associated DICER1 mutations shift microRNA processing and reactivate HERVH endogenous retroviruses.

Structures of the AGO maturation complex reveal how chaperones and an RNA duplex drive assembly of the RNA-induced silencing complex.

The U6 snRNA internal stem loop (ISL) forms the catalytic core of the spliceosome. Here, the authors reveal a hierarchal modification pathway for the U6 ISL, and highlight the independent and interdependent importance of modified nucleotides in the ISL for snRNP maturation and optimal pre-mRNA splicing.

Saturation genome editing of RNU4-2 identifies the functional and clinical impact of variants across the entire gene and delineates variants that cause a new recessive neurodevelopmental disorder distinct from ReNU syndrome.

This study identifies Snora61, a snoRNA enriched in intestinal stem cells (ISCs). Snora61 knockout impairs ISC function. Snora61 binds to the Lgr5 promoter, recruiting RBMX and HMGB2 to activate Lgr5 transcription.

Identification of early biomarkers of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease is a dire need for the timely management of disease. Previously regarded as cellular byproducts or waste, transfer RNA fragments have recently emerged from the trash as potential gold mines for distinguishing between individuals in the pre-symptomatic stage of Parkinson’s disease and healthy control individuals.

Heart regeneration after tissue injury depends on the proliferation of existing cardiomyocytes. Manipulating the non-coding transcriptome holds promise for the therapeutic induction of cardiomyocyte proliferation in the damaged human heart. A study now demonstrates that piRNAs have key roles in this regenerative process.