Function and mechanisms of microRNA‑20a in colorectal cancer (Review)

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. CRC currently has no specific biomarkers to promote its diagnosis and treatment and the underlying mechanisms regulating its pathogenesis have not yet been determined. MicroRNAs (miRs) are small, non-coding RNAs that exhibit regulatory functions and have been demonstrated to serve a crucial role in the post-transcriptional regulatory processes of gene expression that is associated with cell physiology and disease progression. Recently, abnormal miR-20a expression has been identified in a number of cancers types and this has become a novel focus within cancer research. High levels of miR-20a expression have been identified in CRC tissues, serum and plasma. In a recent study, miR-20a was indicated to be present in feces and to exhibit a high sensitivity to CRC. Therefore, miR-20a may be used as a marker for CRC and an indicator that can prevent the invasive examination of patients with this disease. Changes in the expression of miR-20a during chemotherapy can be used as a biomarker for monitoring resistance to treatment. In conclusion, miR-20a exhibits the potential for clinical application as a novel diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for use in patients with CRC. The present study focused on the role and mechanisms of miR-20a in CRC. Contents 1. Introduction 2. microRNA-20a overview 3. The mechanism of miR-20a in CRC 4. miR-20a can be used as a diagnostic marker in CRC 5. miR-20a may be used as a monitoring indicator during chemotherapy 6. Conclusion and prospects

<p>Long Non-Coding RNA LINC00239 Functions as a Competitive Endogenous RNA by Sponging microRNA-484 and Enhancing KLF12 Expression to Promote the Oncogenicity of Colorectal Cancer</p>

“… 17 MiRNAs play cancer-inhibiting or cancer-promoting actions to regulate the oncogenicity of CRC and are implicated in the modulation of multiple tumor cell behaviors. 18 , 19 LncRNAs have miRNA binding sites and can function as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) by sponging miRNAs, thus modulating the expression of miRNA targets. 20 Therefore, an in-depth investigation of cancer-associated lncRNAs and miRNAs in CRC may provide useful information for identifying potential targets for cancer diagnosis and therapy.…”

Small in Size, but Large in Action: microRNAs as Potential Modulators of PTEN in Breast and Lung Cancers

“…One of the interesting points is the anti-tumor activity of propofol as an anesthetic agent. This compound is exclusively applied in cancer therapy, and it is capable of regulating different molecular pathways in cancer therapy, particularly miRNAs [ 320 , 321 , 322 ]. In non-small cell lung cancer, propofol downregulates miRNA-21 expression to induce apoptosis in a time- and dose-dependent manner.…”

miR-100-5p Enhanced Cell Cycle-mediated Chemoresistance Through Modulating CTDSPL/pRB/E2F1 Signaling Pathway in Oxaliplatin-Resistant Colorectal Cancer

“…miRNAs are generally non-coding consist 19-22 nucleotide endogenous RNA molecules which is negatively regulates the target genes expression through cleaving mRNA and translational suppression [6]. Many evidences reported that miRNA play an important role in many biological process are cell proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion, apoptosis and organ development in different types of cancer [7,8] and, are closely associated with development cell chemoresistance in cancer cells especially in colorectal cancer [9][10][11][12][13]. In this study, we performed identi cation the aberrant expression of different miRNA in the parental and Oxaliplatin-resistant CRC using microarray analysis.…”