Redirection of silencing targets by adenosine-to-inosine editing of miRNAs

Primary transcripts of certain microRNA ( miRNA) genes are subject to RNA editing that converts adenosine to inosine. However, the importance of miRNA editing remains largely undetermined. Here we report that tissue-specific adenosine-to-inosine editing of miR-376 cluster transcripts leads to predominant expression of edited miR-376 isoform RNAs. One highly edited site is positioned in the middle of the 5'-proximal half "seed" region critical for the hybridization of miRNAs to targets. We provide evidence that the edited miR-376 RNA silences specifically a different set of genes. Repression of phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase 1, a target of the edited miR-376 RNA and an enzyme involved in the uric-acid synthesis pathway, contributes to tight and tissue-specific regulation of uric-acid levels, revealing a previously unknown role for RNA editing in miRNA-mediated gene silencing.