Minal Garg, Department of Biochemistry, University of Lucknow, Lucknow 226007, India.
World J Stem Cells. 2012 Jul 26;4(7):62-70. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v4.i7.62.
This review discusses the various regulatory characteristics of microRNAs that are capable of generating widespread changes in gene expression via post translational repression of many mRNA targets and control self-renewal, differentiation and division of cells. It controls the stem cell functions by controlling a wide range of pathological and physiological processes, including development, differentiation, cellular proliferation, programmed cell death, oncogenesis and metastasis. Through either mRNA cleavage or translational repression, miRNAs alter the expression of their cognate target genes; thereby modulating cellular pathways that affect the normal functions of stem cells, turning them into cancer stem cells, a likely cause of relapse in cancer patients. This present review further emphasizes the recent discoveries on the functional analysis of miRNAs in cancer metastasis and implications on miRNA based therapy using miRNA replacement or anti-miRNA technologies in specific cancer stem cells that are required to establish their efficacy in controlling tumorigenic potential and safe therapeutics.
这篇综述讨论了 microRNAs 的各种调控特性，它们能够通过对许多 mRNA 靶标的翻译后抑制来产生广泛的基因表达变化，并控制细胞的自我更新、分化和分裂。它通过控制广泛的病理和生理过程来控制干细胞功能，包括发育、分化、细胞增殖、程序性细胞死亡、肿瘤发生和转移。通过 mRNA 切割或翻译抑制，miRNA 改变其同源靶基因的表达；从而调节细胞途径，影响干细胞的正常功能，将其转化为癌症干细胞，这可能是癌症患者复发的原因。本综述进一步强调了 miRNA 在癌症转移中的功能分析的最新发现，以及使用 miRNA 替代或抗 miRNA 技术在特定癌症干细胞中进行 miRNA 治疗的意义，这对于确定其在控制肿瘤发生潜力和安全治疗方面的疗效是必要的。
