Title:Recent Advances in Novel Recombinant RNAs for Studying Post-transcriptional
Gene Regulation in Drug Metabolism and Disposition
Volume: 24
Issue: 3
Author(s): Mei-Juan Tu*Ai-Ming Yu*
Affiliation:
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
Keywords:
Drug-metabolizing enzyme, transporter, microRNA, siRNA, regulation, recombinant RNA.
Abstract: Drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters are major determinants of the absorption, disposition, metabolism,
and excretion (ADME) of drugs, and changes in ADME gene expression or function may alter the pharmacokinetics/
pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) and further influence drug safety and therapeutic outcomes. ADME gene
functions are controlled by diverse factors, such as genetic polymorphism, transcriptional regulation, and coadministered
medications. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a superfamily of regulatory small noncoding RNAs that are
transcribed from the genome to regulate target gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. The roles of miRNAs
in controlling ADME gene expression have been demonstrated, and such miRNAs may consequently influence
cellular drug metabolism and disposition capacity. Several types of miRNA mimics and small interfering RNA
(siRNA) reagents have been developed and widely used for ADME research. In this review article, we first provide a
brief introduction to the mechanistic actions of miRNAs in post-transcriptional gene regulation of drug-metabolizing
enzymes, transporters, and transcription factors. After summarizing conventional small RNA production methods,
we highlight the latest advances in novel recombinant RNA technologies and applications of the resultant bioengineered
RNA (BioRNA) agents to ADME studies. BioRNAs produced in living cells are not only powerful tools for
general biological and biomedical research but also potential therapeutic agents amenable to clinical investigations.