Switches in gene expression including microRNA and a large number of distinct mRNAs

In eukaryotic cells, the kinetics of gene expression depend on the interplay of messenger RNAs (mRNAs), proteins, and nonprotein coding RNAs, or, more specifically, microRNAs. Some of microRNAs may target hundreds of mRNAs. To describe this case, the author proposes a kinetic model implying that the microRNA synthesis is suppressed by protein produced via translation of one of the target mRNAs. With physically reasonable model parameters, the model predicts bistability or, in other words, switches in expression of hundreds of genes.