https://phys.org/news/2018-11-analytical-approach-reveals-molecules-involved.html

The use of miRNA data in this way was prompted by accumulating findings on the importance of miRNAs in various physiological functions and diseases. miRNAs are small products of DNA that do not themselves encode proteins, but instead bind to mRNAs to regulate gene expression. In this latest study, the researchers employed previously obtained data on the expression of around 1,800 miRNAs in different cells. They searched for overlaps between these miRNAs and the genes they target on the one hand, and genes identified elsewhere as being linked to diseases and other traits by studies focusing directly on the genetic code on the other.

"It has been difficult to obtain convincing data about the effects of miRNAs as their short length means that they are encoded by only a very small part of the genome," lead author Saori Sakaue says. "Our MIGWAS approach linking findings from genome-wide association studies and miRNA-target networks helps to overcome this. It successfully obtained significant results for miRNA/target gene enrichment for traits such as height and type 2 diabetes across different ethnic groups."