Cell migration and metastasis as targets of small RNA-based molecular genetic analyses.

Metastatic tumor cells can migrate from one place to another in the body. This involves their adherence to host cell layers and subsequent transcellular movements by a complex process, molecular basis of which are yet to be clarified. Elucidation of genes functionally involved in metastasis may lead to deeper understanding of the mechanism of cell migration, and identification and designing of metastasis-modulating strategies for cancer therapeutics. We review here cell migration in tumor metastasis and the use of small RNA-based approaches to identify functional genes. We then describe our promising novel approach that uses randomized ribozyme libraries for identification of genes involved in cell migration, a consistent feature of metastatic cells.