Abstract
MicroRNAs modulate target gene expression and are essential for normal development, but how does this pathway impact cell fate decisions? In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Ivey et al. (2008) find that muscle-specific microRNAs repress nonmuscle genes to direct embryonic stem cell differentiation to mesoderm and muscle.
MeSH terms
-
Animals
-
Cell Differentiation / physiology
-
Cell Lineage / physiology*
-
Embryonic Stem Cells / cytology
-
Embryonic Stem Cells / physiology*
-
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / physiology*
-
Humans
-
Mesoderm / cytology
-
Mesoderm / embryology*
-
Mice
-
Mice, Transgenic
-
MicroRNAs / genetics
-
MicroRNAs / metabolism*
-
Myocardium / cytology
-
Myocardium / metabolism*
-
Pluripotent Stem Cells / cytology
-
Pluripotent Stem Cells / physiology*