Zhang Jian, Zhao Huadong, Gao Yuan, Zhang Wei
The State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology and The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, 710032, PR China.
Biochim Biophys Acta. 2012 Aug;1826(1):32-43. doi: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2012.03.001. Epub 2012 Mar 13.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that degrade or block target mRNAs at the post-transcriptional level. Many studies have shown that miRNA dysregulation is involved in cancer initiation, invasion, metastasis, and so forth. Notably, recent studies have revealed secretory miRNA levels in blood and other body fluids to correlate significantly with cancer progression, therapeutic response and patient survival. Thus, secretory miRNAs have demonstrated great potential as powerful and non-invasive cancer biomarkers. Herein, we summarize the current progress of secretory miRNAs in different cancer types and analyze the potential mechanisms of miRNA secretion. Then, we discuss the different approaches to miRNA detection in body fluids and the advantages of secretory miRNAs as biomarkers for early cancer diagnosis and the prediction of therapeutic efficacy. Finally, we list the current progress of secretory miRNAs as cancer biomarkers in clinical trials. Although several issues remain to be clarified, such as the mechanisms of miRNA secretion, it is only a matter of time before miRNAs are widely utilized as cancer biomarkers.
微小RNA（miRNA）是一类小的非编码RNA，它们在转录后水平降解或阻断靶标mRNA。许多研究表明，miRNA失调与癌症的发生、侵袭、转移等有关。值得注意的是，最近的研究显示血液和其他体液中的分泌型miRNA水平与癌症进展、治疗反应及患者生存显著相关。因此，分泌型miRNA已显示出作为强大的非侵入性癌症生物标志物的巨大潜力。在此，我们总结了分泌型miRNA在不同癌症类型中的当前进展，并分析了miRNA分泌的潜在机制。然后，我们讨论了体液中miRNA检测的不同方法以及分泌型miRNA作为早期癌症诊断和治疗疗效预测生物标志物的优势。最后，我们列出了分泌型miRNA作为癌症生物标志物在临床试验中的当前进展。尽管仍有几个问题有待阐明，如miRNA分泌的机制，但miRNA被广泛用作癌症生物标志物只是时间问题。
