Quirky base pairing attracts rule-breaking enzymes to destroy microRNAs

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18 March 2026 Quirky base pairing attracts rule-breaking enzymes to destroy microRNAs MicroRNAs control gene expression by modulating the output and stability of messenger RNAs. How are these crucial regulators kept in check? By Katherine McJunkin 0 Katherine McJunkin Katherine McJunkin is at the Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA. View author publications PubMed Google Scholar

MicroRNAs help to control which proteins are generated in cells by reducing the stability and translation of specific messenger RNAs. Because of their importance in regulating gene expression, a different set of microRNAs is expressed in each cell type, and the abundance of each microRNA is tightly controlled by its rates of generation and destruction. Writing in Nature, Farnung et al.1 detail a pervasive mechanism for this destruction.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00632-7

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Competing Interests The author declares no competing interests.

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