MicroRNAs miR-19, miR-340, miR-374 and miR-542 regulate MID1 protein expression

The MID1 ubiquitin ligase activates mTOR signaling and regulates mRNA translation. Misregulation of MID1 expression is associated with various diseases including midline malformation syndromes, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. While this indicates that MID1 expression must be tightly regulated to prevent disease states specific mechanisms involved have not been identified. We examined miRNAs to determine mechanisms that regulate MID1 expression. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small non-coding RNAs that recognize specific sequences in their target mRNAs. Upon binding, miRNAs typically downregulate expression of these targets. Here, we identified four miRNAs, miR-19, miR-340, miR-374 and miR-542 that bind to the 3’-UTR of the MID1 mRNA. These miRNAs not only regulate MID1 expression but also mTOR signaling and translation of disease associated mRNAs and could therefore serve as potential drugs for future therapy development.