miRNA 与胃癌的关系研究进展

微小RNA(miRNA)是长度为22nt左右的非编码RNA,具有转录后调节的功能,对细胞的增殖、凋亡和分化起到重要作用。胃癌是世界第四大常见肿瘤,高居癌症死亡的第二位。越来越多的研究表明miRNA在肿瘤中起着原癌基因或抑癌基因的作用,本文将阐述miRNA与胃癌的关系的研究进展。     

胃癌相关miRNA表达的表观遗传学调控机制

胃癌是人类最常见的肿瘤之一,其发病机制尚不完全清楚.微小RNA(microRNA,miRNA)是一组最近发现的长度为22个核苷酸左右的非编码RNA,具有负性调控基因表达的功能.本文对miRNA在胃癌发生中的作用及其表达调控机制进行综述.不断有文献显示,miRNA在多种肿瘤(包括胃癌)的发生过程中发挥着重要作用.作者和其他研究人员发现,miRNA的表达异常(如:miR-421和miR-21的上调或/和miR-31和miR-218的下调等)与胃癌的发生相关,提示miRNA是胃癌发生的重要因素.目前,miRNA表达的分子机制尚未完全明了.最近研究较清楚地显示,miRNA的表达受到DNA甲基化和组蛋白修饰等机制的调控.这说明,胃癌相关miRNA的表达水平受到表观遗传机制的调控。     

胃癌转移相关微小RNA的研究进展

胃癌是我国最常见的恶性肿瘤之一,复发和转移仍就是胃癌治疗的一大难题.微小RNA(miRNA)是一类内源性非编码小RNA,在转录后水平对基因表达进行负调控.可以作为一类新型的癌基因或抑癌基因参与肿瘤的凋亡,生长,侵袭.研究miRNA对胃癌转移发生发展的作用有助于我们寻找治疗胃癌的新方法.本文就miRNA和胃癌转移关系的研究进展做一综述.     

幽门螺杆菌相关miRNA与胃癌关系的研究进展

微小核糖核酸(microRNA,miRNA)是一种由内源基因编码长度约为22个核苷酸的非编码RNA,其能抑制靶基因蛋白质表达,有多种生物学功能。越来越多的研究表明,miRNA在多种肿瘤中异常表达,参与肿瘤发生、发展过程。幽门螺杆菌(Helicobacter pylori,Hp)作为胃癌的主要致病因素,可通过调节miRNA的表达,在胃癌中起促进或抑制作用。现就Hp相关miRNA在胃癌中的作用作一概述。     

环状RNA在胃癌与结直肠癌中的功能和作为临床标志物的潜力

环状RNA（circRNA）是一种广泛存在于生物体内的新型内源性RNA。CircRNA由RNA前体可变剪接产生,比线性RNA有更好的稳定性,是最近几年RNA领域的明星分子。CircRNA来源于内含子或外显子,可充当miRNA海绵或者结合蛋白质来参与基因表达调控,甚至已发现有circRNA能编码蛋白质。越来越多的研究表明,circRNA在肿瘤（如：食管癌、肝癌、胃癌、结直肠癌和膀胱癌等）的发生发展中发挥了重要作用。近年来,circRNA在胃癌、结直肠癌的研究逐渐增加,circRNA可能成为新的生物学标志物发挥诊断和预后的作用。本文将主要介绍circRNA 在胃癌及结直肠癌的功能和作为临床标志物的研究进展。     

环状RNA在肿瘤中的表达与功能

环状RNA(circular RNA,circRNA)是一类闭合环状的内源RNA分子,广泛存在于不同物种及多种人体细胞中,具有丰富性、稳定性和组织特异性等特点。人体细胞中的circRNA主要可分为外显子circRNA、环状内含子RNA和外显子-内含子circRNA等。与正常组织相比,circRNA在多种肿瘤组织中异常表达,并具有作为微小RNA(microRNA,miRNA)海绵调控miRNA、结合蛋白质、参与翻译等功能。虽然circRNA在肿瘤中异常表达的具体机制尚不明确,但其在食管鳞状细胞癌、胃癌、结直肠癌、肝细胞癌、神经胶质瘤等多种肿瘤发生、发展的分子通路中具有重要作用,并有望成为全新的肿瘤标志物和治疗靶点。circRNA领域的发展日新月异,本文根据最新研究报道,就circRNA的基本特征、异常表达机制、调控肿瘤的机制及其在多种肿瘤中发挥的作用作一综述。     

肿瘤发生过程中miRNA与lncRNA的相互作用

非编码RNA(non-coding RNA,ncRNA)是生物体内普遍存在,且对生命活动具有重要调控作用的生物分子.以微RNA（microRNA,miRNA）和长链非编码RNA（long non coding RNA,lncRNA）为代表的ncRNA分子在肿瘤发生和发展过程中都有重要的作用.越来越多研究发现,miRNA和lncRNA之间的关系是非常密切的,某些lncRNA(如H19和BIC)可以作为miRNA的前体,通过加工成miRNA而发挥作用.有些miRNA通过作用于lncRNA影响肿瘤的发生(如：miR-129与MEG3,let-7与H19);同样地,有些lncRNA通过作用于miRNA影响肿瘤的发生(如：HULC与miR-372,PTCSC3与miR-574-5p,ciRS-7与miR-7,Sry与miR-138).miRNA与lncRNA之间既可以直接相互作用,也可以通过其它分子（特别是蛋白质或蛋白质复合物）间接地影响着肿瘤的发生和发展.揭示miRNA和lncRNA相互作用在肿瘤发生中的作用可以为肿瘤的诊断和治疗提供新思路.     

微RNA调节肺癌转移的分子机制

微RNA(microRNA,miRNA)是一类长约22 nt的非编码小分子RNA,在转录后水平上通过基因沉默调节靶基因的活性。近年来,miRNA与肿瘤转移关系的研究成为探讨肿瘤转移调控机制的热点。越来越多的研究提示miRNA在肿瘤转移过程中发挥着重要作用。肺癌转移是影响肺癌预后的关键,是一种复杂的多因素、多步骤、多基因参与调控的过程。研究miRNA对肺癌转移的作用有助于我们找到阻断肺癌转移的靶点。本文就miRNA和肺癌转移关系的研究进展作一综述。     

非编码RNA作为ceRNA在人癌症中的功能及机制

非编码RNA(non-coding RNA, ncRNA),即无编码蛋白质潜力的RNA,包括短非编码RNA,例如微RNA(microRNA, miRNA),长非编码RNA(long coding RNA, lncRNA)和环状RNA(circular RNA, circRNA)等,已被证明可以在RNA水平上调节细胞中多种生理及病理过程。miRNA是约18～22个核苷酸大小的内源性非编码RNA分子,可以通过MRE与靶基因的3′非翻译区(untranslated region,UTR)中的互补序列结合,抑制蛋白质编码基因的表达,并导致mRNA转录物的更新、转换或降解。2011年,Salmena等提出,非编码RNA与具有编码蛋白质能力的RNA(mRNA)之间存在一种被称为竞争性内源RNA(competing endogenous RNA, ceRNA)的相互作用机制假说,即含有miRNA反应元件(MRE)的ncRNA通过与miRNA结合,解除miRNA对靶基因的抑制作用。这一假说对基因表达调控的传统认知进行了补充,在RNA水平上将多种ncRNA的作用补充到经典的miRNA调控mRNA翻译的过程,将其延伸为ceRNA-miRNA-mRNA的网络调控模式。近年来研究发现,ceRNA机制广泛存在于胃癌、结肠癌和膀胱癌等各类癌症中,并且在肿瘤的基因调控及肿瘤细胞的增殖、侵袭、转移、凋亡、细胞周期等生物过程中发挥作用。本文将介绍ceRNA及其网络的机制与分子基础,并且结合两类非编码RNA——lncRNA及circRNA作为ceRNA分别在人类不同癌症类型中的近期研究进展作一综述,讨论该机制在肿瘤中的角色及作用,以期拓宽对肿瘤发生发展机制的视野,为癌症治疗提供新思路。     

miR-21在头颈肿瘤中的研究进展

微小RNA(micro RNA,miRNA)是一类小分子非编码RNA,可引起靶m RNA的降解或翻译抑制,从而对基因进行转录后表达调控,它在细胞生长、发育和衰老等生命过程中扮演着重要角色。miR-21在人类组织和细胞中较早发现,是广泛存在的miRNA之一,也是实体肿瘤中最常见的过高表达miRNA之一,在肿瘤的发生发展中可能发挥癌基因的作用。该文就miR-21在头颈肿瘤中的研究作一综述。     

miRNA表达谱与上皮性卵巢癌

Micro RNA(miRNA)是近年来研究发现的一种高度保守,长度大约19-25个核苷酸的非编码小分子RNA,起着调控基因表达的作用。目前认为miRNA能调控细胞周期、凋亡、分化、发育和新陈代谢等,参与肿瘤的发生与发展,因此异常表达的miRNAs表达谱有可能成为一种全新的肿瘤分子标记物。相关研究表明,miRNA能够以一种被保护的状态存在于血清及血浆中,因此miRNA表达谱的发现具有易检测性、重现性以及非侵袭性。研究显示血清及血浆中miRNA表达谱可作为上皮性卵巢癌生物信号分子,在上皮性卵巢癌早期诊断、预后判断和化疗药物应用等方面具有不可替代的作用。本文将对miRNA表达谱与上皮性卵巢癌的关系进行一个简单总结。     

Bivalent histone modifications in stem cells poise miRNA loci for CpG island hypermethylation in human cancer

It has been proposed that the existence of stem cell epigenetic patterns confer a greater likelihood of CpG island hypermethylation on tumor suppressor-coding genes in cancer. The suggested mechanism is based on the Polycomb-mediated methylation of K27 of histone H3 and the recruitment of DNA methyltransferases on the promoters of tumor suppressor genes in cancer cells, when those genes are preferentially pre-marked in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) with bivalent chromatin domains. On the other hand, miRNAs appear to be dysregulated in cancer, with many studies reporting silencing of miRNA genes due to aberrant hypermethylation of their promoter regions. We wondered whether a pre-existing histone modification profile in stem cells might also contribute to the DNA methylation-associated silencing of miRNA genes in cancer. To address this, we examined a group of tumor suppressor miRNA genes previously reported to become hypermethylated and inactivated specifically in cancer cells. We analyzed the epigenetic events that take place along their promoters in human embryonic stem cells and in transformed cells. Our results suggest that there is a positive correlation between the existence of bivalent chromatin domains on miRNA promoters in ESCs and the hypermethylation of those genes in cancer, leading us to conclude that this epigenetic mark could be a mechanism that prepares miRNA promoters for further DNA hypermethylation in human tumors.     

Tumor-derived extracellular vesicles and microRNAs: Functional roles,diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic options

In the last few years cancer research more and more highlighted the importance of cell to cell communication in tumor progression. Among many other functional mechanisms, results evidenced the importance of miRNAs loaded into exosomes and their actions as mediators in intercellular communication, either in the tumor microenvironment or at distant sites. Deregulation of miRNA levels is a prerogative of cancer cells and is reflected in the miRNA cargo of tumor derived exosomes. Thus, learning of circulating miRNA activities add the missing piece we need to understand some unclear aspects of cancer biology.Here we summarized the current knowledge on exosome transfer capabilities between cancer cells and all the cells constituting tumor microenvironment with a particular focus on their miRNA cargos and regulatory functions. The clinical relevance of these molecular aspects is emphasized by numerous cell interactions that ultimately result in normal cell function defeat, relevant to increase tumor malignancy. The quantitative and qualitative evaluation of circulating miRNAs offers new perspective for better diagnosis and prognosis of cancer patients, eventually improving their management.     

microRNA-214在恶性肿瘤中的表达及相关性的研究进展

微小RNA(microRNA,miRNA)是广泛存在于动植物中的一类不编码蛋白质的短小的单链RNA分子,一般由22个核苷酸组成,它们可以特异性地结合mRNA并通过降解或抑制其翻译而在转录后水平调控基因表达。miRNA的表达及功能可影响许多表观遗传学特征,其功能涉及细胞的发生、生长、发育、分化和凋亡过程,在肿瘤的形成和进展过程中扮演重要角色。microRNA-214(miRNA-214,miR-214)参与肝癌、乳腺癌、宫颈癌、卵巢癌、恶性黑色素瘤、胃癌、胶质瘤、儿童骨肉瘤等恶性肿瘤的发生发展,以及与肿瘤细胞的侵袭及转移密切相关。miRNA-214在不同的肿瘤中表达水平并不相同,miRNA-214在不同肿瘤中的差异表达是通过调控某个或者某些癌基因及抑癌基因而实现其参与肿瘤的发生发展、侵袭及转移的作用。因此,本文主要通过阅读大量国内外文献,总结和概括了miRNA-214参与部分恶性肿瘤发生发展的机制。虽然目前对于miRNA的理论研究已经日渐完善和成熟,但是怎样将这些研究结果应用于临床,怎样能够更准确、更便捷的通过对miRNA的检测达到对疾病的诊断、治疗以及预后评估,想必一定会成为将来研究的热点,我们期待一种新型的恶性肿瘤的分子标志物会使越来越多的肿瘤患者获益。     

Bivalent histone modifications in stem cells poise miRNA loci for CpG island hypermethylation in human cancer

It has been proposed that the existence of stem cell epigenetic patterns confer a greater likelihood of CpG island hypermethylation on tumor suppressor-coding genes in cancer. The suggested mechanism is based on the Polycomb-mediated methylation of K27 of histone H3 and the recruitment of DNA methyltransferases on the promoters of tumor suppressor genes in cancer cells, when those genes are preferentially pre-marked in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) with bivalent chromatin domains. On the other hand, miRNAs appear to be dysregulated in cancer, with many studies reporting silencing of miRNA genes due to aberrant hypermethylation of their promoter regions. We wondered whether a pre-existing histone modification profile in stem cells might also contribute to the DNA methylation-associated silencing of miRNA genes in cancer. To address this, we examined a group of tumor suppressor miRNA genes previously reported to become hypermethylated and inactivated specifically in cancer cells. We analyzed the epigenetic events that take place along their promoters in human embryonic stem cells and in transformed cells. Our results suggest that there is a positive correlation between the existence of bivalent chromatin domains on miRNA promoters in ESCs and the hypermethylation of those genes in cancer, leading us to conclude that this epigenetic mark could be a mechanism that prepares miRNA promoters for further DNA hypermethylation in human tumors.     

Quantitative analysis of microRNAs in tissue microarrays by in situ hybridization

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key regulators in the pathogenesis of cancers where they can act as either oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Most miRNA measurement methods require total RNA extracts which lack critical spatial information and present challenges for standardization. We have developed and validated a method for the quantitative analysis of miRNA expression by in situ hybridization (ISH) allowing for the direct assessment of tumor epithelial expression of miRNAs. This co-localization based approach (called qISH) utilizes DAPI and cytokeratin immunofluorescence to establish subcellular compartments in the tumor epithelia, then multiplexed with the miRNA ISH, allows for quantitative measurement of miRNA expression within these compartments. We use this approach to assess miR-21, miR-92a, miR-34a, and miR-221 expression in 473 breast cancer specimens on tissue microarrays. We found that miR-221 levels are prognostic in breast cancer illustrating the high-throughput method and confirming that miRNAs can be valuable biomarkers in cancer. Furthermore, in applying this method we found that the inverse relationship between miRNAs and proposed target proteins is difficult to discern in large population cohorts. Our method demonstrates an approach for large cohort, tissue microarray-based assessment of miRNA expression.     

MicroRNA 与肿瘤的相关研究进展

微小RNA(microRNAs,miRNA)是一类22个核苷酸左右的非编码调控RNA。可以通过切割mRNA或者是抑制翻译两种机制,在转录后水平发挥调控生物生长发育的重要作用。目前的研究已经发现microRNA参与调控发育、细胞分化、细胞凋亡等多种生理过程。目前已证实miRNA参与肿瘤发生和进展,miRNA表达谱是肿瘤诊断和预后的指标,miRNA突变、缺失或表达水平的异常与人类肿瘤密切相关,它发挥类似于癌基因或抑癌基因的作用,参与肿瘤细胞的增殖、分化和细胞凋亡过程。本文就miRNA在肿瘤发生发展以及诊断治疗方面的研究进展作一综述。