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Cancer-associated miRNAs and their therapeutic potential

Journal of Human Genetics volume 66, pages 937–945 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

MicroRNA (miRNA; miR) is a functionally small non-coding RNA and can negatively regulate gene expression by directly binding to the target gene. Some miRNAs are closely involved in the development and progression of cancer and are abnormally expressed in many cancer types. Therefore, control of the expression of cancer-associated miRNAs is expected as a next-generation drug modality to treat advanced types of cancers with high unmet medical needs. Indeed, miRNA therapeutics, which are based on the functional inhibition of oncogenic miRNA (OncomiR) using antisense oligonucleotides (anti-miR) and the replacement via the introduction of a synthetic miRNA mimic for tumor suppressive miRNA (TS-miR), have been developed. In this review, we summarize cancer-associated miRNAs related to various cancer pathologies and their clinical application to miRNA therapeutics for cancer.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (18K06954, 16K14630), for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas “Conquering cancer through NEO-dimensional systems understandings” (15H05908) from JSPS and MEXT, a research program of the Project for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Evolution (P-CREATE), and the Tailor-Made Medical Treatment with the BioBank Japan Project (BBJ) from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). This study was supported by Nanken-Kyoten, TMDU.

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  1. Department of Molecular Cytogenetics, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan

    Jun Inoue & Johji Inazawa

  2. Bioresource Research Center, TMDU, Tokyo, Japan

    Johji Inazawa

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Inoue, J., Inazawa, J. Cancer-associated miRNAs and their therapeutic potential. J Hum Genet 66, 937–945 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s10038-021-00938-6

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