Consequences of genetic variants in miRNA genes

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that posttranscriptionally regulate the expression of most genes. They are involved in regulating many physiological processes, and aberrations in the levels of different miRNAs play an important role in the development of many diseases, including autoimmune diseases, neuropsychiatric diseases, and cancers. Although miRNAs are being intensively studied and levels of many miRNAs are either specifically increased or decreased in particular diseases, very little is known about the genetic variations of miRNA genes and their impact on the functioning of miRNA genes and human diseases. To shed more light on the potential effects of genetic variants in miRNA genes, we review here representative examples of SNPs, mutations linked to Mendelian diseases, and cancer somatic mutations located in miRNA genes and discuss their potential effects on the expression of miRNA genes, i.e., the structure and processing of miRNA precursors, the levels of generated miRNAs, miRNA target recognition/silencing, and impact on human diseases.