microRNA therapies in cancer

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are a family of small non-coding RNA species that have been implicated in the control
of many fundamental cellular and physiological processes such as cellular differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis and
stem cell maintenance. miRNAs regulate gene expression by the sequence-selective targeting of mRNAs, leading to
translational repression or mRNA degradation. Some microRNAs have been categorized as “oncomiRs” as opposed
to “tumor suppressor miRs” Modulating the miRNA activities may provide exciting opportunities for cancer therapy.
This review highlights the latest discovery of miRNAs involved in carcinogenesis as well as the potential applications
of miRNA regulations in cancer treatment. Several studies have demonstrated the feasibility of restoring tumor
suppressive miRNAs and targeting oncogenic miRNAs for cancer therapy using in vivo model systems.