MiRNAs in Radiotherapy Resistance of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most common malignant tumors of the head and neck in Southeast Asia and southern China. Although the comprehensive treatment based on intensity-modulated radiation therapy improves outcomes, the five-year survival rate of NPC patients is low, and the recurrence remains high. Radiotherapy resistance is the main cause of poor prognosis in NPC patients. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous non-coding RNAs regulating various biological functions in eukaryotes. These miRNAs can regulate the development and progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by affecting the proliferation, apoptosis, movement, invasion and metastasis of NPC cells. The abnormal expression of miRNAs is closely related to radiotherapy sensitivity and prognosis of NPC patients, which can affect the transmission of related signaling pathways by regulating the expression of tumor suppressor genes and / or oncogenes, and therefore participate in radiotherapy resistance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Here, we review the mechanisms by which miRNAs may be involved in the radiotherapy resistance of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Long noncoding RNA SLC9A3‑AS1 increases E2F6 expression by sponging microRNA‑486‑5p and thus facilitates the oncogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

“…They are confirmed as vital gene modulators and work through complementary pairing with the 3′-untranslated regions (UTRs) of their target genes, ultimately triggering mRNA degradation or reducing translation ( 17 ). Numerous miRNAs are abnormally expressed in NPC and are essential in inducing malignancy and tumorigenesis ( 18 – 20 ). The theory of competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) proposed by Salmena et al ( 21 ) has accelerated research on lncRNA mechanisms.…”

lncRNA XIST knockdown suppresses hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)‐induced apoptosis of H9C2 cells by regulating miR‐545‐3p/G3BP2

“…Through the intersections of three prediction databases (Targets can, miRanda and miRDB), miR‐545‐3p was selected as the target of lncRNA XIST. microRNAs are involved in multiple biological processes, including cellular differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis 34,35 . Previous studies have demonstrated that miR‐545‐3p affects the pathogenesis of various cancers 36–38 .…”

HGF/MET Signalling and DNA Damage Response: Strategies to Conquer Radiotherapy Resistance in Head and Neck Cancer

“…Translationally, this study demonstrates the clinical potential of MET inhibitors for increasing radiosensitivity in CSCs which could be applied to HNSCC since Crizotinib has shown to inhibit CSC-like populations and impair metastasis in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) HNSCC models [103]. It would be interesting to evaluate if EGFR uses the same signalling cascade identified in this study to drive RR; this could be exploited with anticancer combinational therapies in HNSCC involving cotargeting c-MET and EGFR, given that EGFR is frequently overexpressed in HNSCC, and is demonstrated to activate DNA repair [108,109].…”