Zhou Nanjiang, Mo Yin-Yuan
Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.
Front Biosci (Schol Ed). 2012 Jan 1;4(3):810-8. doi: 10.2741/s301.
MicroRNAs are a class of endogenous non-coding RNAs that function as important regulatory molecules via the RNA interference mechanism. Since microRNAs play a fundamental role in regulation of a variety of cellular, physiological, and developmental processes, their aberrant expression can lead to a variety of human diseases including cancer. In particular, microRNAs have been implicated in regulation of stem cells as well as cancer stem cells. Given that cancer stem cells are believed to be responsible for the cancer initiation, metastasis and chemotherapy resistance, a better understanding of how microRNAs mediate gene expression in cancer stem cells will help identify novel cancer biomarkers and therapeutic targets, and as a result, it will aid in the development of better strategy for cancer treatment. In this review, we will update recent advances in microRNAs involved in cancer stem cells and their gene regulations in these cells.
微小RNA是一类内源性非编码RNA，它们通过RNA干扰机制发挥重要的调节分子作用。由于微小RNA在多种细胞、生理和发育过程的调节中起着基础性作用，其异常表达会导致包括癌症在内的多种人类疾病。特别是，微小RNA已被证明参与干细胞以及癌症干细胞的调节。鉴于癌症干细胞被认为与癌症的起始、转移和化疗耐药性有关，更好地了解微小RNA如何介导癌症干细胞中的基因表达将有助于识别新的癌症生物标志物和治疗靶点，从而有助于制定更好的癌症治疗策略。在本综述中，我们将更新微小RNA在癌症干细胞中的最新研究进展及其在这些细胞中的基因调控。
