Identification of miR-145 and miR-146a as mediators of the 5q– syndrome phenotype

For myelodysplastic syndromes caused by deletion of chromosome 5q, Daniel Starczynowski et al. provide evidence that decreased expression of two miRNAs in this region—miR-145 and miR-146a—contributes to abnormal megakaryocyte differentiation and platelet production and progression of the disease to either bone marrow failure or leukemia. The authors also provide a mechanistic explanation for these effects by which loss of these two miRNAs leads to derepression of innate immune signaling.