Levels of MicroRNA Heterogeneity in Cancer Biology
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Levels of MicroRNA Heterogeneity in Cancer Biology Nina Petrovic1,2 • Sercan Ergu¨n3 • Esma R. Isenovic1,4
Ó Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland 2017
Abstract MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression, involved in the silencing of messenger RNA (mRNA) translation. The importance of miRNA signatures in disease screening, prognosis, and progression of different tumor types and subtypes is increasing. miRNA expression levels change depending on numerous factors. In this review, we are describing the circumstances under which miRNA levels can change, these are named ‘levels’ of heterogeneity of miRNAs. miRNAs can have oncogenic, tumor suppressive, or both roles depending on tumor type and target mRNA whose translation they silence. The expression levels of a single miRNA may vary across different cancer types and subtypes, indicating that a miRNA signature may be tissue specific. miRNA levels of expression also vary during disease formation and propagation, indicating the presence of a time profile for their expression. The complexity of the miRNA-mRNA interference network mirrors different
& Nina Petrovic [email protected] Sercan Ergu¨n [email protected] Esma R. Isenovic [email protected] 1
Department for Radiobiology and Molecular Genetics, Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, Mike Alasa 12-14, Belgrade 11000, Serbia
2
Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Pasterova 14, Belgrade 11000, Serbia
3
Ulubey Vocational Higher School, Ordu University, 52850 Ordu, Turkey
4
Faculty of Stomatology, Pancevo, University Business Academy, Novi Sad, Serbia
genetic and epigenetic changes that influence miRNA and mRNA availability to each other, and hence, their binding ability. The potential role of miRNAs as biomarkers is twofold; first, for monitoring of the phases of cancer pathogenesis, and second, to characterize the particular type/subtype of cancer. It is important that a particular miRNA should be characterized by examining as many types and subtypes of cancers as are available, as well as being extracted from different types of samples, in order to obtain a complete picture of its behavior and importance in the disease pathology.
Key Points for Decision Makers Expression levels of the same miRNA are different in various types of cancer, and vary through disease formation and progression. One miRNA can be both tumor suppressive and oncogenic. Heterogeneity of miRNA expression is a consequence of complex relationships between miRNAs and target mRNAs.
1 Introduction MicroRNAs (miRNAs), epigenetic silencers of translation, are frequently associated with tumor formation, progression, metastasis, prognosis, survival time and response to therapy in a wide spectrum of tumor types, including
N. Petrovic et al.
prostate, lung, hepatocellular, colorectal, pancreatic cancer, and breast cancer (BC) [1–3]. miRNA expression levels change as a consequence of different mechanisms during cancer pathogenesis. miRNA genes
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