In eukaryotic cells, the balance between the synthesis and the degradation decides the steady-state levels of messenger RNAs (mRNA). The removal of adenosine residues from the poly(A) tail, called deadenylation, is the first and the most crucial step in the process of mRNA degradation. Poly (A)-specific ribonuclease (PARN) is one such enzyme that catalyses the process of deadenylation. Although PARN has been primarily known as the regulator of the mRNA stability, recent evidence clearly suggests several other functions of PARN, including a role in embryogenesis, oocyte maturation, cell-cycle progression, telomere biology, non-coding RNA maturation and ribosome biogenesis. Also, deregulated PARN activity is shown to be a hallmark of specific disease conditions. Pathogenic variants in the PARN gene have been observed in various cancers and inherited bone marrow failure syndromes. The focus in this review is to highlight the emerging functions of PARN, particularly in the context of human diseases.

在真核细胞中，合成和降解之间的平衡决定了信使 RNA (mRNA) 的稳态水平。从 poly(A) 尾部去除腺苷残基，称为去腺苷酸化，是 mRNA 降解过程中的第一个也是最关键的步骤。聚 (A) 特异性核糖核酸酶 (PARN) 是一种催化去腺苷酸化过程的酶。尽管 PARN 主要被认为是 mRNA 稳定性的调节剂，但最近的证据清楚地表明 PARN 的其他几个功能，包括在胚胎发生、卵母细胞成熟、细胞周期进程、端粒生物学、非编码 RNA 成熟和核糖体生物发生中的作用。此外，已证明 PARN 活性失调是特定疾病状况的标志。PARN 中的致病变异已经在各种癌症和遗传性骨髓衰竭综合征中观察到了这种基因。本综述的重点是强调 PARN 的新兴功能，特别是在人类疾病的背景下。