Out-of-equilibrium ceRNA crosstalk

Amongst non-coding RNAs, microRNAs are pivotal post-transcriptional
regulators of gene expression in higher eukaryotes. Through a titration-based mech-
anism of interaction with their target RNAs, microRNAs can mediate a weak but
pervasive form of RNA cross-regulation, as different endogenous RNAs can be ef-
fectively coupled by competing for microRNA binding (a phenomenon now known
as ‘crosstalk’). Mathematical modelling has been proven of great help in unraveling
many features of these competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) interactions. How-
ever, although many studies have been devoted to the steady-state properties of this
indirect regulatory layer, little is known about how the information encoded in fre-
quency, amplitude, duration, and other features of regulatory signals can affect the
resulting ceRNA crosstalk picture and hence the overall patterns of gene expression.
Here we focus on such dynamical aspects, with a special emphasis on the encoding
and decoding of time-dependent signals.