Department of Biology, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
Research Center for Molecular Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
Expert Rev Mol Med. 2022 Jun 24;24:e27. doi: 10.1017/erm.2022.21.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common type of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) that contain microRNA response elements (MREs) are involved in CRC progression. They can compete with microRNAs (miRNAs) via their MREs, which can combine non-coding and coding RNAs via complex ceRNA networks. This molecular interaction has the potential to affect a wide variety of biological processes, and many cancers can occur as a result of an imbalanced ceRNA network. Recent research indicates that numerous dysregulated RNAs in CRC may function as ceRNAs, regulating multiple biological functions of the tumour, including proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, invasion and migration. In this review, we discuss the role of protein-coding and non-coding RNAs, such as long non-coding RNAs, circular RNAs and pseudogenes, in the occurrence of ceRNA networks in CRC, and their function in cancer-related pathways, such as Wnt/-catenin, mitogen-activated protein kinase and transforming growth factor- signalling pathways. Additionally, we discuss validated ceRNAs associated with CRC biological functions and their potential role as novel prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers. Examining the role of ceRNAs in CRC sheds new light on cancer treatment and pathogenesis.
结直肠癌（CRC）是一种常见的癌症，也是全球癌症相关死亡的第二大主要原因。含有 microRNA 反应元件（MRE）的竞争性内源 RNA（ceRNA）参与 CRC 的进展。它们可以通过 MRE 与 microRNAs（miRNAs）竞争，通过复杂的 ceRNA 网络将非编码和编码 RNA 结合在一起。这种分子相互作用有可能影响广泛的生物学过程，并且许多癌症可能是由于 ceRNA 网络失衡引起的。最近的研究表明，CRC 中许多失调的 RNA 可以作为 ceRNA 发挥作用，调节肿瘤的多种生物学功能，包括增殖、凋亡、转移、侵袭和迁移。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了蛋白质编码和非编码 RNA（如长非编码 RNA、环状 RNA 和假基因）在 CRC 中 ceRNA 网络发生中的作用，以及它们在 Wnt/-catenin、丝裂原活化蛋白激酶和转化生长因子-β信号通路等癌症相关途径中的功能。此外，我们还讨论了与 CRC 生物学功能相关的已验证的 ceRNA 及其作为新型预后和诊断生物标志物的潜在作用。研究 ceRNA 在 CRC 中的作用为癌症治疗和发病机制提供了新的思路。
