Gene Regulation by Transcription Factors and Splicing Factors Coupled With microRNAs in Animals

microRNAs (miRNA), a class of recently discovered small RNA consisted of 22 nucleotides, can regulate gene expression by binding to 3'-UTR of target mRNAs. miRNA can negatively regulate the expression of target mRNA at post-transcription and translation level. It is speculated that nearly 30% of the animal genes are regulated by miRNA. Along with the functional studies of miRNA, it is reported that the two important gene expression regulation factors-transcription factors and splicing factors have direct and/or indirect relationships with miRNA. The relationship between miRNA, transcription factors and splicing factors will provide a new insight of miRNA in understanding miRNA's function and new clues for therapeutical application.