We study the biology of microRNAs (miRNAs) which play important roles in gene regulation. To study the molecular mechanisms of miRNA pathway, we combine various methodologies including cell biological, biochemical, computational and biophysical techniques. The main focus of the lab has been on the mechanism of miRNA biogenesis. By identifying several key factors such as Drosha, we made major contributions to the current understanding of how miRNAs are created and processed in cells. We are now investigating the function and regulation of miRNAs in cancer and stem cells. This will be of critical importance in the efforts to eradicate cancer and harness stem cells by taking advantage of miRNA-mediated gene control.
Principle Investigator:Prof. Dr. V. Narry Kim
Women in Science (L'Oreal-UNESCO, 2008)
One of the 50 Excellent Research Projects 2007
by Korea Research Foundation (Korean)
Interview (first, second) with BRIC (2006 in Korean)
Interview with Quest (2005)
* About Our Lab (written by V. N. Kim in Korean)
PROTOCOLS
▪ In vitro analysis of pri-miRNA processing by the Drosha-DGCR8 complex (as of Nov 2007)
▪ Northern blot analysis for microRNA (as of Nov 2007)
▪ In vivo analysis of pri-miRNA processing by the Drosha-DGCR8 complex (as of Nov 2007)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
▪ Y. K. Kim and V. N. Kim (2007) "Processing of intronic microRNAs" EMBO J. 26(3):775-83 doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7601512 (PDF)
▪ K. H. Yeom, Y. Lee, J. Han, M. R. Suh and V. N. Kim (2006) "Characterization of DGCR8/Pasha, the essential cofactor for Drosha in primary miRNA processing" Nucleic Acids Research 34(16):4622-9 doi:10.1093/nar/gkl458 (PDF, supplements)
▪ J. Han*, Y. Lee*, K. H. Yeom*, J. W. Nam, I. Heo, J. K. Rhee, S. Y. Sohn, Y. Cho, B. T. Zhang, and V. N. Kim (2006) "Molecular basis for the recognition of primary microRNAs by the Drosha-DGCR8 complex" Cell 125(5):887-901 doi:10.1016/j.cell.2006.03.043 (PDF, supplements) *equal contribution
▪ Y. Lee*, I. Hur*, S. Y. Park*, Y. K. Kim, M. R. Suh and V. N. Kim(2006) "The role of PACT in the RNA silencing pathway" EMBO J. 25(3):522-32 doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7600942 (PDF) *equal contribution
▪ J. W. Nam, K. R. Shin, J. Han, Y. Lee, and V. N. Kim, B. T. Zhang (2005) "Human microRNA prediction through a probabilistic co-learning model of sequence and structure" Nucleic Acids Research 33(11):3570-81 doi:10.1093/nar/gki668 (PDF, supplements 12)
▪ J. Han*, Y. Lee*, K. H. Yeom, Y. K. Kim, H. Jin and V. N. Kim (2004) "The Drosha-DGCR8 complex in primary microRNA processing" Genes & Development 18(24):3016-27 doi:10.1101/gad.1262504 (PDF, supplements) *equal contribution
▪ Y. Lee, M. Kim, J. Han, K. H. Yeom, S. Lee, S. H. Baek, and V. N. Kim (2004) "MicroRNA genes are transcribed by RNA polymerase II" EMBO J. 23(20):4051-60 doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7600385 (PDF)
▪ M. R. Suh, Y. Lee, J. Y. Kim, S. K. Kim, S. H. Moon, J. Y. Lee, K. Y. Cha, H. M. Chung, H. S. Yoon, S. Y. Moon, V. N. Kim and K. S. Kim (2004) "Human embryonic stem cells express a unique set of microRNAs" Developmental Biology 270(2):488-98 doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2004.02.019 (PDF)
▪ Y. Lee, C. Ahn, J. Han, H. Choi, J. Kim, J. Yim, J. Lee, P. Provost, O. Radmark, S. Kim, V. N. Kim (2003) "The nuclear RNase III Drosha initiates microRNA processing" Nature 425(6956):415-9 doi:10.1038/nature01957 (PDF, supplements)
▪ Y. Lee, K. Jeon, J. T. Lee, S. Kim and V. N. Kim (2002) "MicroRNA maturation: stepwise processing and subcellular localization" EMBO J. 21(17):4663-70 doi:10.1093/emboj/cdf476 (PDF)
RECENT REVIEWS
▪ V. N. Kim (2008) "Sorting out small RNAs" Cell 133:25-26 doi:10.1016/j.cell.2008.03.015 (PDF)
▪ V. N. Kim (2006) "Small RNAs just got bigger: Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) in mammalian testes" Genes & Developement 20(15):1993-7 doi:10.1101/gad.1456106 (PDF)
▪ V. N. Kim and J. W. Nam (2006) "Genomics of microRNA" Trends in Genetics 22(3):165-73 doi:10.1016/j.tig.2006.01.003 (PDF)
▪ V. N. Kim (2005) "MicroRNA biogenesis: coordinated cropping and dicing" Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology 6(5):376-85 doi:10.1038/nrm1644 (PDF)
