In silico identification of microRNAs predicted to regulate N-myristoyltransferase and Methionine Aminopeptidase 2 functions in cancer and infectious diseases

Protein myristoylation is a key protein modification carried out by N-Myristoyltransferase (NMT) after Methionine aminopeptidase 2 (MetAP2) removes methionine from the amino-terminus of the target protein. Protein myristoylation by NMT augments several signaling pathways involved in a myriad of cellular processes, including developmental pathways and pathways that when dysregulated lead to cancer or immune dysfunction. The emerging evidence pointing to NMT-mediated myristoylation as a major cellular regulator underscores the importance of understanding the framework of this type of signaling event. Various studies have investigated the role that myristoylation plays in signaling dysfunction by examining differential gene or protein expression between normal and diseased states, such as cancers or following HIV-1 infection, however no study exists that addresses the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the regulation of myristoylation. By performing a large scale bioinformatics and functional analysis of the miRNAs that target key genes involved in myristoylation (NMT1, NMT2, MetAP2), we have narrowed down a list of promising candidates for further analysis. Our condensed panel of miRNAs identifies 35 miRNAs linked to cancer, 21 miRNAs linked to developmental and immune signaling pathways, and 14 miRNAs linked to infectious disease (primarily HIV). The miRNAs panel that was analyzed revealed several NMT-targeting mRNAs (messenger RNA) that are implicated in diseases associated with NMT signaling alteration, providing a link between the realms of miRNA and myristoylation signaling. These findings verify miRNA as an additional facet of myristoylation signaling that must be considered to gain a full perspective. This study provides the groundwork for future studies concerning NMT-transcript-binding miRNAs, and will potentially lead to the development of new diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for several important diseases.