Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Affiliated Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315040, Zhejiang, China.
Cell Commun Signal. 2023 Mar 24;21(1):62. doi: 10.1186/s12964-023-01079-3.
Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and death worldwide. While various factors are established as causing malignant tumors, the mechanisms underlying cancer development remain poorly understood. Early diagnosis and the development of effective treatments for cancer are important research topics. Transfer RNA (tRNA), the most abundant class of RNA molecules in the human transcriptome, participates in both protein synthesis and cellular metabolic processes. tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) are produced by specific cleavage of pre-tRNA and mature tRNA molecules, which are highly conserved and occur widely in various organisms. tRFs were initially thought to be random products with no physiological function, but have been redefined as novel functional small non-coding RNA molecules that help to regulate RNA stability, modulate translation, and influence target gene expression, as well as other biological processes. There is increasing evidence supporting roles for tRFs in tumorigenesis and cancer development, including the regulation of tumor cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and drug resistance. Understanding the regulatory mechanisms by which tRFs impact these processes has potential to inform malignant tumor diagnosis and treatment. Further, tRFs are expected to become new biological markers for early diagnosis and prognosis prediction in patients with tumors, as well as a targets for precision cancer therapies. Video abstract.
癌症是全球发病率和死亡率的主要原因。虽然已经确定了多种导致恶性肿瘤的因素，但癌症发生的机制仍知之甚少。癌症的早期诊断和有效治疗的发展是重要的研究课题。转移 RNA（tRNA）是人类转录组中最丰富的 RNA 分子种类，参与蛋白质合成和细胞代谢过程。tRNA 衍生片段（tRFs）是通过前 tRNA 和成熟 tRNA 分子的特异性切割产生的，它们高度保守，广泛存在于各种生物体中。tRFs 最初被认为是无生理功能的随机产物，但现已被重新定义为新型功能小非编码 RNA 分子，可帮助调节 RNA 稳定性、调节翻译并影响靶基因表达以及其他生物过程。越来越多的证据支持 tRFs 在肿瘤发生和癌症发展中的作用，包括调节肿瘤细胞增殖、侵袭、迁移和耐药性。了解 tRFs 影响这些过程的调节机制有可能为恶性肿瘤的诊断和治疗提供信息。此外，tRFs 有望成为肿瘤患者早期诊断和预后预测的新生物标志物，以及精准癌症治疗的靶点。视频摘要。
