Sreekumar Rahul, Sayan Berna S, Mirnezami Alex H, Sayan A Emre
Cancer Sciences Division, Cancer Research UK Centre, University of Southampton Southampton, UK.
Front Genet. 2011 Sep 5;2:58. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2011.00058. eCollection 2011.
Despite recent advances, cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide. In developed countries, the incidence of colorectal and breast cancer has been stable, but no improvement in prognosis has been observed if the patient presents with metastases at diagnosis. This fact highlights the importance of therapeutic approaches targeting cellular invasion and metastasis programs as the next step in cancer treatment. During carcinoma progression a process called epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) results in enhanced invasion and motility which is directly linked with loss of epithelial polarity and epithelial junctions, migration permissive cytoskeleton alterations, and the acquisition of mesenchymal properties. The recent discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) controlling key cellular pathways has opened a new era in understanding how EMT pathways are modulated. In this review, we classify EMT regulating proteins according to their cellular localization (membrane, cytoplasmic, and nuclear), and summarize the current knowledge on how they are controlled by miRNAs and propose potential miRNAs for the transcripts that may control their expression.
尽管近年来取得了进展，但癌症仍是全球主要的死亡原因。在发达国家，结直肠癌和乳腺癌的发病率一直稳定，但如果患者在诊断时出现转移，其预后并未得到改善。这一事实凸显了靶向细胞侵袭和转移程序的治疗方法作为癌症治疗下一步的重要性。在癌症进展过程中，一个称为上皮-间质转化（EMT）的过程会导致侵袭和运动能力增强，这与上皮极性和上皮连接的丧失、迁移允许的细胞骨架改变以及间质特性的获得直接相关。最近发现的控制关键细胞途径的微小RNA（miRNA）开启了一个理解EMT途径如何被调节的新时代。在这篇综述中，我们根据EMT调节蛋白的细胞定位（膜、细胞质和细胞核）对其进行分类，并总结目前关于它们如何被miRNA控制的知识，并为可能控制其表达的转录本提出潜在的miRNA。
