TY - JOUR
T1 - Sources and Functions of Extracellular Small RNAs in Human Circulation
AU - Fritz, Joëlle V.
AU - Heintz-Buschart, Anna
AU - Ghosal, Anubrata
AU - Wampach, Linda
AU - Etheridge, Alton
AU - Galas, David
AU - Wilmes, Paul
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2016 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/7/17
Y1 - 2016/7/17
N2 - Various biotypes of endogenous small RNAs (sRNAs) have been detected in human circulation, including microRNAs, transfer RNAs, ribosomal RNA, and yRNA fragments. These extracellular sRNAs (ex-sRNAs) are packaged and secreted by many different cell types. Ex-sRNAs exhibit differences in abundance in several disease states and have, therefore, been proposed for use as effective biomarkers. Furthermore, exosome-borne ex-sRNAs have been reported to elicit physiological responses in acceptor cells. Exogenous ex-sRNAs derived from diet (most prominently from plants) and microorganisms have also been reported in human blood. Essential issues that remain to be conclusively addressed concern the (a) presence and sources of exogenous ex-sRNAs in human bodily fluids, (b) detection and measurement of ex-sRNAs in human circulation, (c) selectivity of ex-sRNA export and import, (d) sensitivity and specificity of ex-sRNA delivery to cellular targets, and (e) cell-, tissue-, organ-, and organism-wide impacts of ex-sRNA-mediated cell-to-cell communication. We survey the present state of knowledge of most of these issues in this review.
AB - Various biotypes of endogenous small RNAs (sRNAs) have been detected in human circulation, including microRNAs, transfer RNAs, ribosomal RNA, and yRNA fragments. These extracellular sRNAs (ex-sRNAs) are packaged and secreted by many different cell types. Ex-sRNAs exhibit differences in abundance in several disease states and have, therefore, been proposed for use as effective biomarkers. Furthermore, exosome-borne ex-sRNAs have been reported to elicit physiological responses in acceptor cells. Exogenous ex-sRNAs derived from diet (most prominently from plants) and microorganisms have also been reported in human blood. Essential issues that remain to be conclusively addressed concern the (a) presence and sources of exogenous ex-sRNAs in human bodily fluids, (b) detection and measurement of ex-sRNAs in human circulation, (c) selectivity of ex-sRNA export and import, (d) sensitivity and specificity of ex-sRNA delivery to cellular targets, and (e) cell-, tissue-, organ-, and organism-wide impacts of ex-sRNA-mediated cell-to-cell communication. We survey the present state of knowledge of most of these issues in this review.
KW - Blood
KW - Gene regulation
KW - MicroRNA
KW - Microorganisms
KW - Plant
KW - Vesicle
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84978933485&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1146/annurev-nutr-071715-050711
DO - 10.1146/annurev-nutr-071715-050711
M3 - Review article
C2 - 27215587
AN - SCOPUS:84978933485
SN - 0199-9885
VL - 36
SP - 301
EP - 336
JO - Annual Review of Nutrition
JF - Annual Review of Nutrition
ER -