Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Anal Chim Acta. 2011 Aug 12;699(2):134-52. doi: 10.1016/j.aca.2011.05.025. Epub 2011 May 20.
MicroRNAs (miRNA) are short (∼22 nucleotides) non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Their expression is specific to cells and tissues and is temporally regulated. miRNAs are known to be involved in developmental and physiological processes, and their dysregulation leads to development of diseases. Since their profiles reflect pathological processes, miRNAs have recently been proposed as being useful in diagnostics as biomarkers of the onset, prognosis and risk of diseases, as well as in the classification of different types of cancer. The establishment of miRNA profiles that are representative of diseases and the detection of different types and levels of miRNA in samples are therefore critical milestones in diagnostics. miRNAs can be detected in blood and body fluids as well as in tissues, thus making non-invasive collection of samples possible. For a method to be useful in diagnostics, it should be simple, inexpensive and highly sensitive. Here, we will review current methods of detecting miRNAs and indicate the advantages and disadvantages of each techniques. We will then summarize some of the clinical evidence for the potential application of miRNAs as biomarkers in diagnostics. We conclude providing some general perspectives on the use of miRNAs in clinical situations, including therapeutic applications.
微小 RNA（miRNA）是一种短的（约 22 个核苷酸）非编码 RNA 分子，可在转录后水平调节基因表达。它们的表达具有细胞和组织特异性，并受到时间调节。miRNA 已知参与发育和生理过程，其失调会导致疾病的发生。由于它们的表达谱反映了病理过程，因此 miRNA 最近被提议作为疾病的起始、预后和风险的生物标志物，以及不同类型癌症的分类有用的标志物。建立代表疾病的 miRNA 表达谱，以及在样本中检测不同类型和水平的 miRNA，是诊断学中的关键里程碑。miRNA 可以在血液和体液以及组织中检测到，因此可以进行非侵入性的样本采集。对于一种在诊断中有用的方法，它应该简单、廉价和高度敏感。在这里，我们将回顾目前检测 miRNA 的方法，并指出每种技术的优缺点。然后，我们将总结一些 miRNA 作为诊断生物标志物的潜在应用的临床证据。最后，我们将对 miRNA 在临床情况下的应用提供一些一般的看法，包括治疗应用。
