Jenike Ana E, Halushka Marc K
Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Ross Bldg. Rm 632B, 720 Rutland Avenue, MD, 21205, Baltimore, USA.
Biomark Res. 2021 Mar 12;9(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s40364-021-00272-1.
miRNA-21 is among the most abundant and highly conserved microRNAs (miRNAs) recognized. It is expressed in essentially all cells where it performs vital regulatory roles in health and disease. It is also frequently claimed to be a biomarker of diseases such as cancer and heart disease in bodily-fluid based miRNA studies. Here we dissociate its contributions to cellular physiology and pathology from its potential as a biomarker. We show how it has been claimed as a specific predictive or prognostic biomarker by at least 29 diseases. Thus, it has no specificity to any one disease. As a result, it should not be considered a viable candidate to be a biomarker, despite its continued evaluation as such. This theme of multiple assignments of a miRNA as a biomarker is shared with other common, ubiquitous miRNAs and should be concerning for them as well.
miRNA - 21是已被识别的最为丰富且高度保守的微小RNA（miRNA）之一。它在几乎所有细胞中都有表达，在健康和疾病状态下发挥着至关重要的调节作用。在基于体液的miRNA研究中，它也常被宣称是癌症和心脏病等疾病的生物标志物。在此，我们将其对细胞生理和病理的作用与其作为生物标志物的潜力区分开来。我们展示了它如何被至少29种疾病宣称是一种特定的预测性或预后性生物标志物。因此，它对任何一种疾病都没有特异性。结果，尽管它仍在被如此评估，但它不应被视为成为生物标志物的可行候选物。miRNA作为生物标志物的这种多重归属主题也存在于其他常见、普遍存在的miRNA中，它们也应为此担忧。
