The microRNA analysis portal is a next-generation tool for exploring and analyzing miRNA-focused data in the literature.

MicroRNAs constitute a class of noncoding small RNAs involved in the posttranscriptional regulation of many biological pathways. In recent years, microRNAs have also been associated with regulation across kingdoms, demonstrating that exogenous miRNAs can function in mammals in a fashion similar to mammalian miRNAs. The growing interest in microRNAs and the increasing amount of literature and molecular and biomedical data available make it difficult to identify records of interest and keep up to date with novel findings. For these reasons, we developed the microRNA Analysis Portal (MAP). MAP selects relevant miRNA-focused articles from PubMed, links biomedical and molecular data and applies bioinformatics modules. At the time of this writing, MAP represents the richest, most complete and integrated database focused on microRNAs. MAP also integrates an updated version of MirCompare (2.0), a computational platform used for selecting plant microRNAs on the basis of their ability to regulate mammalian genes. Both MAP and MirCompare functionalities were used to predict that microRNAs from Moringa oleifera have putative roles across kingdoms by regulating human genes coding for proteins of the immune system. Starting from a selection of 94 human microRNAs, MirCompare selected 6 Moringa oleifera functional homologs. The subsequent prediction of human targets and areas of functional enrichment highlighted the central involvement of these genes in regulating immune system processes, particularly the host-virus interaction processes in hepatitis B, cytomegalovirus, papillomavirus and coronavirus. This case of use showed how MAP can help to perform complex queries without any computational background. MAP is available at http://stablab.uniroma2.it/MAP

Identification of microRNAs and relative target genes in Moringa oleifera leaf and callus

MicroRNAs, a class of small, non-coding RNAs, play important roles in plant growth, development and stress response by negatively regulating gene expression. Moringa oleifera Lam. plant has many medical and nutritional uses; however, little attention has been dedicated to its potential for the bio production of active compounds. In this study, 431 conserved and 392 novel microRNA families were identified and 9 novel small RNA libraries constructed from leaf, and cold stress treated callus, using high-throughput sequencing technology. Based on the M. oleifera genome, the microRNA repertoire of the seed was re-evaluated. qRT-PCR analysis confirmed the expression pattern of 11 conserved microRNAs in all groups. MicroRNA159 was found to be the most abundant conserved microRNA in leaf and callus, while microRNA393 was most abundantly expressed in the seed. The majority of predicted microRNA target genes were transcriptional factors involved in plant reproduction, growth/development and abiotic/biotic stress response. In conclusion, this is the first comprehensive analysis of microRNAs in M. oleifera leaf and callus which represents an important addition to the existing M. oleifera seed microRNA database and allows for possible exploitation of plant microRNAs induced with abiotic stress, as a tool for bio-enrichment with pharmacologically important phytochemicals

Investigation of medicinal plants traditionally used as dietary supplements: a review on Moringa oleifera

Diet and nutrition are important factors in the promotion and maintenance of good health throughout the entire life course. A plant-based diet may be able to prevent and treat chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension, obesity, chronic inflammation and cancer. Phytonutrient rich foods are found in traditional African diet which is mostly vegetarian, and most of these food plants are often used for medicinal purposes. This review focuses on a peculiar plant Moringa oleifera, called the “Miracle Tree”, considered to be one of nature's healthiest and most nutritious foods. Countless studies describe the benefits of Moringa leaves, pods, seeds and flowers. Its well documented role in prevention and treatment of chronic diseases is hypothesized here as a result of possible of cross-kingdom regulation by exogenous vegetal microRNAs and synergistic action of plant bioactive components on endogenous human microRNA regulation. The potential health impact of phytocomplexes from African dietary plants within the context of cross-kingdom and endogenous microRNA regulation on health improvement and the overall economic well-being of the continent is estimated to be enormous

Bioinformatics prediction and experimental validation of MicroRNAs involved in cross-kingdom interaction

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that act as efficient post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. In 2012, the first cross-kingdom miRNA-based interaction had been evidenced, demonstrating that exogenous miRNAs act in a manner of mammalian functional miRNAs. Starting from this evidence, we defined the concept of cross-kingdom functional homology between plant and mammalian miRNAs as a needful requirement for vegetal miRNA to explicit a regulation mechanism into the host mammalian cell, comparable to the endogenous one. Then, we proposed a new dedicated algorithm to compare plant and mammalian miRNAs, searching for functional sequence homologies between them, and we developed a web software called MirCompare. We also predicted human genes regulated by the selected plant miRNAs, and we determined the role of exogenous miRNAs in the perturbation of intracellular interaction networks. Finally, as already performed by Pirrò and coworkers, the ability of MirCompare to select plant miRNAs with functional homologies with mammalian ones has been experimentally confirmed by evaluating the ability of mol-miR168a to downregulate the protein expression of SIRT1, when its mimic is transfected into human hepatoma cell line G2 (HEPG2) cells. This tool is implemented into a user-friendly web interface, and the access is free to public through the website http://160.80.35.140/MirCompare