Competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulates mRNA metabolism

Cells transcribe many RNAs that don’t code a protein. They are called noncoding RNA (ncRNA). The most famous ncRNA is microRNA. microRNA has a function that cleaves mRNA, protein coding RNA, which has complementary sequence to the microRNA. microRNA regulates the amount of intracellular mRNAs through this function.

Recently a novel mechanism that prevents mRNA from excessively decreasing by microRNA was discovered, which is competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA). ceRNA is a ncRNA that has the target sequence of a microRNA. ceRNA protects an intrinsic mRNA from disappearance by acting as a substitution for the cleavage by microRNA. Cells have the strange mechanism that protects their own mRNA from their own microRNA. It’s mysterious.