Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biomedicina Translacional, Universidade do Grande Rio (Unigranrio), Duque de Caxias, RJ, Brazil.
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Odontologia Clínica e Experimental, Universidade do Grande Rio (Unigranrio), Duque de Caxias, RJ, Brazil.
Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:4043516. doi: 10.1155/2017/4043516. Epub 2017 Oct 30.
Pain is a symptom shared by an incredible number of diseases. It is also one of the primary conditions that prompt individuals to seek medical treatment. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) corresponds to a heterogeneous disease that may arise from many distinct structures of a large, highly complex, and intricate region. HNSCC affects a great number of patients worldwide and is directly associated with chronic pain, which is especially prominent during the advanced stages of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), an anatomical and clinical subtype that corresponds to the great majority oral cancers. Although the cellular and molecular bases of oral cancer pain have not been fully established yet, the results of recent studies suggest that different epigenetic mechanisms may contribute to this process. For instance, there is strong scientific evidence that microRNAs (miRNAs), small RNA molecules that do not encode proteins, might act by regulating the mechanisms underlying cancer-related pain. Among the miRNAs that could possibly interfere in pain-signaling pathways, miR-125b, miR-181, and miR-339 emerge as some of the most promising candidates. In fact, such molecules apparently contribute to inflammatory pain. Moreover, these molecules possibly influence the activity of endogenous pain control systems (e.g., opioidergic and serotonergic systems), which could ultimately result in peripheral and central sensitization, central nervous system (CNS) phenomena innately associated with chronic pain. This review paper focuses on the current scientific knowledge regarding the involvement of miRNAs in cancer pain, with special attention dedicated to OSCC-related pain.
疼痛是许多疾病共有的症状。它也是促使人们寻求医疗的主要条件之一。头颈部鳞状细胞癌（HNSCC）是一种异质性疾病，可能源于大而复杂的区域的许多不同结构。HNSCC 影响着全球大量的患者，与慢性疼痛直接相关，特别是在口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）的晚期更为明显，后者是口腔癌的主要解剖学和临床亚型。尽管口腔癌疼痛的细胞和分子基础尚未完全确定，但最近的研究结果表明，不同的表观遗传机制可能与此过程有关。例如，有强有力的科学证据表明，微小 RNA（miRNA），即不编码蛋白质的小 RNA 分子，可能通过调节与癌症相关的疼痛机制发挥作用。在可能干扰疼痛信号通路的 miRNA 中，miR-125b、miR-181 和 miR-339 是最有前途的候选者之一。事实上，这些分子显然会导致炎症性疼痛。此外，这些分子可能会影响内源性疼痛控制系统（例如阿片能和 5-羟色胺能系统）的活性，这可能最终导致外周和中枢敏化，中枢神经系统（CNS）与慢性疼痛先天相关的现象。这篇综述文章重点介绍了 miRNA 参与癌症疼痛的当前科学知识，特别关注与 OSCC 相关的疼痛。
