Cancer Research UK Centre, Somers Cancer Research Building, University of Southampton Cancer Sciences Division, Southampton University Hospital NHS Trust, Southampton, SO16 6YD, United Kingdom.
Biol Cell. 2012 Jan;104(1):3-12. doi: 10.1111/boc.201100115. Epub 2011 Dec 9.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small highly conserved RNAs that provide widespread expressional control through the translational repression of mRNA. MiRNAs have fundamental roles in the regulation of intracellular processes, and their importance during malignant transformation and metastasis is becoming increasingly well recognized. An important event in the metastatic cascade is epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), a reversible phenotypic switch over, which endows malignant epithelial cells with the capacity to break free from one another and invade the surrounding stroma. Our understanding of EMT has been significantly improved by the characterization of miRNAs that influence the signalling pathways and downstream events that define EMT on a molecular level. Here, we detail the role of miRNAs in EMT, and in doing so demonstrate their importance in the early stages of the metastatic cascade; we discuss a significant body of data that suggest new opportunities for drug development, and we highlight critical knowledge gaps that remain to be addressed.
微小 RNA（miRNAs）是一类高度保守的小 RNA，通过抑制 mRNA 的翻译来提供广泛的表达调控。miRNAs 在细胞内过程的调节中具有重要作用，其在恶性转化和转移中的重要性正日益得到认可。转移级联反应中的一个重要事件是上皮到间充质转化（EMT），这是一种可逆的表型转换，赋予恶性上皮细胞彼此分离并侵入周围基质的能力。miRNAs 影响信号通路和定义 EMT 的下游事件，从而在分子水平上对 EMT 进行了特征描述，这极大地提高了我们对 EMT 的理解。在这里，我们详细介绍了 miRNAs 在 EMT 中的作用，并证明了它们在转移级联反应的早期阶段的重要性；我们讨论了大量的数据，这些数据表明了药物开发的新机会，并且突出了仍然需要解决的关键知识空白。
