Li Pei-Yao, He Fu-Chu, Zhou Gang-Qiao
Department of Genomics & Proteomics, State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing 100850, China.
Yi Chuan. 2011 Aug;33(8):870-8. doi: 10.3724/sp.j.1005.2011.00870.
microRNAs (miRNAs) are a highly conserved class of small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression by post-transcriptional degradation or translational repression. miRNAs are involved in the regulation of cell apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation and other physiological processes, and are closely related with the development of cancer. More recently, it has been proposed that the presence of genetic variations (e.g., single nucleotide polymorphism and copy number variation) in microRNA genes, their biogenesis pathway and target binding sites affect the miRNA processing machinery and targeting, and have a significant genetic effect. In this review, we focus on the miRNA-related genetic variations and cancer susceptibility and progression.
微小RNA（miRNA）是一类高度保守的小非编码RNA，通过转录后降解或翻译抑制来调控基因表达。miRNA参与细胞凋亡、增殖、分化等生理过程的调控，与癌症的发生发展密切相关。最近，有人提出微小RNA基因、其生物合成途径和靶标结合位点中存在的遗传变异（如单核苷酸多态性和拷贝数变异）会影响miRNA加工机制和靶向作用，并具有显著的遗传效应。在本综述中，我们重点关注与miRNA相关的遗传变异以及癌症易感性和进展。
