Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Cell Cycle. 2009 Nov 1;8(21):3506-12. doi: 10.4161/cc.8.21.9802. Epub 2009 Nov 13.
Distant metastases are the underlying cause of patient mortality in an overwhelming majority of human carcinomas. Certain microRNAs have recently been found capable of regulating the process of tumor metastasis. In this review, we highlight advances within this rapidly emerging field, endeavor to connect known microRNA pathways with recent conceptual advances in the larger field of metastasis research, and speculate regarding the future utility of microRNAs in the diagnosis and treatment of human cancers. Assessed collectively, current evidence suggests that the pleiotropic activities of microRNAs endow them with the capacity to function as crucial, yet previously unappreciated, nodes within already-identified metastasis regulatory circuitry. This has important implications for our understanding of the pathogenesis of high-grade malignancies.
在绝大多数人类癌中，远处转移是导致患者死亡的根本原因。最近发现某些 microRNAs 能够调节肿瘤转移的过程。在这篇综述中，我们强调了这一快速发展领域的进展，努力将已知的 microRNA 途径与转移研究这一更大领域中的最新概念进展联系起来，并推测 microRNAs 在人类癌症的诊断和治疗中的未来应用。总的来说，目前的证据表明，microRNAs 的多效性活动赋予了它们作为已经确定的转移调节回路中关键但以前未被认识到的节点的能力。这对我们理解高级别恶性肿瘤的发病机制具有重要意义。
