Analyses in 2014

Increasing evidence suggests that competition between transcripts for binding of microRNAs and RNA-binding proteins might be a fundamental principle of post-transcriptional gene regulation. The authors use a simple steady-state model to quantitatively assess competition effects under physiological conditions and review the role of endogenous 'sponges' in light of the key features that emerge.

Analyses of post-transcriptional gene regulation and the protein factors involved have been substantially driven forward by technological advances such as next-generation sequencing and modern protein mass spectrometry. This Analysis provides a census of 1,542 manually curated RNA-binding proteins, for which the authors have investigated interactions with different classes of RNA, evolutionary conservation, abundance and tissue-specific expression.

There are various measures to quantify the contribution of genetic variants to disease risk, but differing terminology and assumptions obfuscate their use and interpretation. In this Analysis, the authors consider and contrast six commonly used measures that assess disease risk of individual variants, and provide numerical examples in breast cancer, Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia.