Fig. 6. miR-675 arm levels are determined by target availability. miR-675 is processed from the stem-loop precursor by Dicer, leading to two mature forms, miR-675-5' and miR-675-3'. In chondrocytes, the 5' arm is degraded by cellular nucleases due to low or no direct target availability. The 3' arm on the other hand, maintains steady state levels due to presence of direct targets. In myotubes, high levels of both miR-675 arms are present, possibly as a result of sufficient expression of direct targets. Indirect targets (e.g. MMP1 and MMP13 in chondrocytes) are affected downstream of this process resulting in elevated or decreased levels of mRNA and/or protein. RISC, RNA induced silencing complex.