Felicetti Federica, Errico M Cristina, Segnalini Patrizia, Mattia Gianfranco, Carè Alessandra
Department of Hematology, Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2008 Nov;8(11):1759-65. doi: 10.1586/14737140.8.11.1759.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) represent a new family of small noncoding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression. Recent studies demonstrated miRNA involvement in all the main biological processes, including tumor development as a consequence of an aberrant deregulated expression. Growing evidence is showing the capability of miRNA expression profiles to unequivocally distinguish between normal and neoplastic tissues, leading to the identification of new diagnostic and/or prognostic molecular markers. In addition, miRNAs might eventually represent new targets to aim at as innovative therapeutic approaches, particularly relevant in those types of cancer, such as melanoma, which are still lacking effective traditional therapies. In particular, the inhibition of miRNA-221 and -222, which are abnormally expressed in melanoma and favor the induction of the malignant phenotype by downregulating c-KIT receptor and p27Kip, might in the future represent an efficient treatment for translation into the clinical setting.
微小RNA（miRNA）是一类新的小非编码RNA，可负向调控基因表达。最近的研究表明，miRNA参与了所有主要的生物学过程，包括由于异常失调表达导致的肿瘤发生。越来越多的证据表明，miRNA表达谱能够明确区分正常组织和肿瘤组织，从而鉴定出新的诊断和/或预后分子标志物。此外，miRNA最终可能成为新的靶点，作为创新的治疗方法，这在黑色素瘤等仍缺乏有效传统疗法的癌症类型中尤为重要。特别是，抑制在黑色素瘤中异常表达并通过下调c-KIT受体和p27Kip促进恶性表型诱导的miRNA-221和-222，未来可能成为一种有效的治疗方法并转化为临床应用。
