RESEARCH ARTICLE MicroRNAsmiR-26a, miR-26 e a Background

microRNA (miRNA)-mediated translational repression is integrated into the RNA-induced silencing complex [3,4], thereby unfolding their regulatory potential to regulate Trompeter et al. BMC Genomics 2013, 14:111 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/14/111[17,18], BMP2, and other factors, that drive committedDiagnostics and Cell Therapeutics (ITZ), Düsseldorf D-40225, Germany Full list of author information is available at the end of the articlean important regulatory mechanism in multiple cellular processes. miRNAs are a subpopulation of small RNAs, averaging 22 nucleotides in length, which inhibit transla-tion through sequence-specific binding to target sites within the 30-UTRs of mRNAs. Following transcription, miRNAs are processed in a two-step mechanism involving the RNAses DROSHA and DICER [1,2] and subsequently mRNAs [5-7]. Exhibiting stage- and tissue-specific expres-sion patterns during development [8,9], miRNAs not only function as key regulatory molecules in multiple cellular processes including apoptosis [10,11], cancer [12], pro-liferation [13], development [14], and differentiation [15] but also control stemness and pluripotency of embryonic stem cells e.g. by repressing pluripotency factors OCT4, SOX2 and KLF4 [16]. Osteogenesis is a highly coordinated process involving transcription factors, such as RUNX2 and OSTERI