Institute of Pharmacy, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
J Pharm Pharmacol. 2020 Dec;72(12):1732-1749. doi: 10.1111/jphp.13351. Epub 2020 Aug 12.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a type of small noncoding RNA employed by the cells for gene regulation. A single miRNA, typically 22 nucleotides in length, can regulate the expression of numerous genes. Over the past decade, the study of miRNA biology in the context of cancer has led to the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities.
MicroRNA dysregulation is commonly associated with cancer, in part because miRNAs are actively involved in the mechanisms like genomic instabilities, aberrant transcriptional control, altered epigenetic regulation and biogenesis machinery defects. MicroRNAs can regulate oncogenes or tumour suppressor genes and thus when altered can lead to tumorigenesis. Expression profiling of miRNAs has boosted the possibilities of application of miRNAs as potential cancer biomarkers and therapeutic targets, although the feasibility of these approaches will require further validation.
In this review, we will focus on how miRNAs regulate tumour development and the potential applications of targeting miRNAs for cancer therapy.
MicroRNAs（miRNAs）是细胞用于基因调控的一种小型非编码 RNA。单个 miRNA 通常长 22 个核苷酸，可以调节许多基因的表达。在过去的十年中，对癌症背景下 miRNA 生物学的研究导致了新的诊断和治疗机会的发展。
miRNA 失调通常与癌症有关，部分原因是 miRNA 积极参与基因组不稳定性、异常转录控制、表观遗传调控改变和生物发生机制缺陷等机制。miRNAs 可以调节癌基因或肿瘤抑制基因，因此当发生改变时，可能导致肿瘤发生。miRNA 的表达谱分析增加了 miRNA 作为潜在癌症生物标志物和治疗靶点的应用可能性，尽管这些方法的可行性还需要进一步验证。
在这篇综述中，我们将重点关注 miRNA 如何调节肿瘤的发生以及针对 miRNA 进行癌症治疗的潜在应用。
