Targeted mRNA Degradation

Regulation of gene expression includes a wide array of cellular mechanisms that control abundance of RNA and protein levels. Besides the well-described mechanisms of transcriptional control, cells use a variety of posttranscriptional processes to regulate the levels and activity of RNA and protein molecules through modification, stabilization, or degradation of these molecules. In particular, changes in the amounts of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) play a major role in gene expression. In this article we will focus on the mechanisms that regulate cellular abundance of mRNAs through targeted mRNA degradation.