Goga Andrei, Benz Christopher
Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
Mol Interv. 2007 Aug;7(4):199-202, 180. doi: 10.1124/mi.7.4.6.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs or mirs) are small, non-coding RNAs that bind specific mRNAs and decrease their translation or increase their degradation. miRNAs may modulate the formation and maintenance of tumors by regulating oncogene and tumor suppressor expression. For example, overexpression of a subset of miRNAs has been inversely correlated with certain tumor phenotypes, suggesting a role in tumor suppression. Pairs of oncogenes and the corresponding miRNAs that attenuate their expression have been recently identified. These miRNAs, or "anti-oncomirs," can act as natural inhibitors of oncogene function, indicating the possibility that they might be developed as novel therapeutics.
微小RNA（miRNA或mir）是一类小的非编码RNA，它们与特定的信使核糖核酸（mRNA）结合，减少其翻译或增加其降解。微小RNA可能通过调节癌基因和肿瘤抑制因子的表达来调控肿瘤的形成和维持。例如，一部分微小RNA的过表达与某些肿瘤表型呈负相关，提示其在肿瘤抑制中发挥作用。最近已鉴定出成对的癌基因以及能减弱其表达的相应微小RNA。这些微小RNA，即“抗癌miRNA”，可作为癌基因功能的天然抑制剂，这表明它们有可能被开发成为新型治疗药物。
