MicroRNA: Small Molecules of Great Significance

REVIEWS , ,

VN Aushev

N.N. Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Center, 24 Kashirskoye sh., Moscow, Russian Federation, 115478

For correspondence: Vasilii Nikolaevich Aushev, PhD, 24 Kashirskoye sh., Moscow, Russian Federation, 115478; Tel.: +7(499)324-17-64; e-mail: vaushev@gmail.com

For citation: Aushev VN. MicroRNA: Small Molecules of Great Significance. Clinical oncohematology. 2015;8(1):1–12 (In Russ).

ABSTRACT

Background. MicroRNAs were first discovered as antisense transcripts in Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes, where they inhibited expression of genes containing complementary sequences in mRNAs. Therefore, these molecules, along with the short interfering microRNAs are main mediators of RNA interference, which is a universal mechanism of regulation of the expression.

Results. MicroRNAs are small molecules transcribed from genomic DNA, undergoing further processing and exported to the cytoplasm. They can be a part of protein-coding transcripts or may be transcribed from non-coding areas. Primary processing can also be realized either by the specialized enzyme complex, or as a part of standard mRNA splicing. After exporting to the cytoplasm, intermediate RNA product undergoes final processing resulting in formation of an active RNA-protein complex capable of binding to complementary sequences of target mRNAs. Ultimate effect of such binding is the suppression of translation from the target mRNA; the latter can often be split due to the RNase activity of the complex.

Conclusions. Several thousand microRNAs are encoded in human genome, forming a large regulatory network involved in various signaling pathways and cellular processes. Malfunction of microRNA regulation are typical for a wide range of diseases and all types of malignancies. MicroRNAs are of great importance in oncology, including oncohematology as perspective cancer biomarkers and potential therapeutic agents. Involvement of some microRNAs in the development of a broad range of hematopoietic diseases has been demonstrated to date. In a number of cases it is recommended to use these molecules for molecular diagnosing and for determining prognosis of the disease.

Keywords: microRNA, regulation of expression, tumor biomarkers.

Received: July 16, 2014

Accepted: October 7, 2014

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