Okayama University Hospital, Center for Gene and Cell Therapy, Okayama, Japan.
Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2011 Feb;11(2):145-55. doi: 10.1517/14712598.2011.542749.
MicroRNA (miRNA) is a small non-coding RNA, which negatively regulates the expression of many target genes, thereby contributing to the modulation of diverse cell fates. Recent advances in molecular biology have revealed the potential role of miRNAs in tumor initiation, progression and metastasis. Aberrant regulation of miRNAs has been frequently reported in a variety of cancers, including gastrointestinal tumors, suggesting that cancer-related miRNAs are promising as novel biomarkers for tumor diagnosis and are potential target genes for cancer gene therapy against gastrointestinal tumors.
The review focuses on the role of specific miRNAs (miR-192/194/215 and miR-7) in the differentiation of gastrointestinal epithelium and on the role of tumor-suppressive (miR-34, miR-143, miR-145) and oncogenic miRNAs (miR-21, miR-17-92 cluster) in gastrointestinal tumors. Furthermore, the potential role of miRNAs as novel biomarkers and target genes for cancer gene therapy against gastrointestinal tumors are discussed. We will also outline the potential clinical application of miRNAs for tumor diagnosis and cancer gene therapy against gastrointestinal tumors.
Exploration of tumor-related miRNAs would provide important opportunities for the development of novel cancer gene therapies aimed at normalizing the critical miRNAs that are deregulated in gastrointestinal tumors.
微小 RNA（miRNA）是一种小型非编码 RNA，可负向调控许多靶基因的表达，从而有助于调节多种细胞命运。分子生物学的最新进展揭示了 miRNA 在肿瘤发生、进展和转移中的潜在作用。在包括胃肠道肿瘤在内的多种癌症中，经常报道 miRNA 的异常调节，这表明与癌症相关的 miRNA 有望成为肿瘤诊断的新型生物标志物，并可能成为胃肠道肿瘤癌症基因治疗的潜在靶基因。
该综述重点介绍了特定 miRNA（miR-192/194/215 和 miR-7）在胃肠道上皮分化中的作用，以及肿瘤抑制 miRNA（miR-34、miR-143、miR-145）和致癌 miRNA（miR-21、miR-17-92 簇）在胃肠道肿瘤中的作用。此外，还讨论了 miRNA 作为胃肠道肿瘤新型生物标志物和癌症基因治疗靶基因的潜力。我们还将概述 miRNA 用于胃肠道肿瘤的肿瘤诊断和癌症基因治疗的潜在临床应用。
探索与肿瘤相关的 miRNA 将为开发旨在使胃肠道肿瘤中失调的关键 miRNA 正常化的新型癌症基因治疗提供重要机会。
