MicroRNAs (miRNAs) � an abundant class of small non-protein-coding regulators of gene expression � play an important role in tumorigenesis and, depending on their targets, can function as tumour suppressors or oncogenes. Crucially, miRNA-expression profiling of human tumours has identified signatures associated with diagnosis, staging, progression, prognosis and response to treatment.

Nature Publishing Group presents a Collection on microRNAs and cancer, which includes original Research and Review articles, as well as Research Highlights from Nature Genetics, Nature Reviews Genetics and Nature Reviews Cancer. The collection is freely available until September 30th, 2008, thanks to the support from Exiqon.


Research Highlights

Tumorigenesis: Keeping a good thing down

Nicola McCarthy

doi:10.1038/nrc2306

Nature Reviews Cancer 8, 8-9 (2008)

Tumorigenesis: A shocking enabler of tumour growth

Sarah Seton-Rogers

doi:10.1038/nrc2262

Nature Reviews Cancer 7, 817 (2007)

Another piece in the p53 puzzle

Sarah Seton-Rogers

doi:10.1038/nrc2178

Nature Reviews Cancer 7, 488 (2007)

Micro enhancement

Magdalena Skipper

doi:10.1038/nrg2116

Nature Reviews Genetics 8, 326-327 (2007)

Let's suppress tumours

Francesca Pentimalli

doi:10.1038/nrc2120

Nature Reviews Cancer 7, 229 (2007)

Tiny new oncogenes

Patrick Goymer

doi:10.1038/nrc1902

Nature Reviews Cancer 6, 344 (2006)

Immunology: Stalemate

Nicola McCarthy

doi:10.1038/nrc2301

Nature Reviews Cancer 8, 3 (2008)

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Progress

microRNAs join the p53 network — another piece in the tumour-suppression puzzle

Lin He, Xingyue He, Scott W. Lowe & Gregory J. Hannon

doi:10.1038/nrc2232

Nature Reviews Cancer 7, 819-822 (2007)

Several recent papers have shown that the miR-34 family of microRNAs is directly involved in mediating the effects of p53, indicating that non-coding RNAs have an important role in tumorigenesis. This Progress article discusses these papers and their implications.

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Review

Mining gene expression profiles: expression signatures as cancer phenotypes

Joseph R. Nevins & Anil Potti

doi:10.1038/nrg2137

Nature Reviews Genetics 8, 601-609 (2007)

Expression signatures have tremendous power to identify new cancer subtypes and to predict clinical outcomes. Using these signatures as surrogate phenotypes researchers can link diverse experimental systems to dissect the complexity of tumorigenesis in vivo.

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Primary Research

Widespread microRNA repression by Myc contributes to tumorigenesis

Tsung-Cheng Chang, Duonan Yu, Yun-Sil Lee, Erik A Wentzel, Dan E Arking, Kristin M West, Chi V Dang, Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko & Joshua T Mendell

doi:10.1038/ng.2007.30

Nature Genetics 40, 43-50 (2008)

Impaired microRNA processing enhances cellular transformation and tumorigenesis

Madhu S Kumar, Jun Lu, Kim L Mercer, Todd R Golub & Tyler Jacks

doi:10.1038/ng2003

Nature Genetics 39, 673-677 (2007)

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