MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in cancer metastasis: Molecular interactions and possible therapeutic targets

Paskeh, Mahshid Deldar Abad; Salimimoghadam, Shokooh; Mirzaei, Sepideh; Hashemi, Mehrdad; Kalu, Azuma and Nabavi, Noushin (2023). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in cancer metastasis: Molecular interactions and possible therapeutic targets. In: Sethi, Gautam and Ashrafizadeh, Milad eds. Non-coding RNA Transcripts in Cancer Therapy: Pre-clinical and Clinical Implications. World Scientific, pp. 29–51.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/9789811267390_0002

Abstract

As a global disease with a high mortality rate, cancer remains a difficult-to-treat disorder, which is still challenging despite the numerous studies carried out in this field. Cancers have a heterogeneous nature which helps them to escape from the immune system and therapies. Conventional cancer therapies include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. However, studies of targeted therapy and combinational therapies show promising results. Non-coding RNAs are molecules with critical regulatory functions in cells and can be divided into two main types: short non-coding RNAs including microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs. miRNAs regulate gene expression at transcription and post-transcription levels and regulate protein function. They also play key regulatory roles in cancer and mediate various hallmarks of cancer including metastasis. For survival, cancer cells alter their microenvironment and neighboring cellular metabolism, with their increasing need for energy. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition is one of the mechanisms that enhance metastasis and invasion of tumor cells. This chapter discusses our current knowledge of miRNAs’ regulatory role in cancer metastasis.

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