Role of non-coding RNA networks in leukemia progression, metastasis and drug resistance

Abstract

Early-stage detection of leukemia is a critical determinant for successful treatment of the disease and can increase the survival rate of leukemia patients. The factors limiting the current screening approaches to leukemia include low sensitivity and specificity, high costs, and a low participation rate. An approach based on novel and innovative biomarkers with high accuracy from peripheral blood offers a comfortable and appealing alternative to patients, potentially leading to a higher participation rate. Recently, non-coding RNAs due to their involvement in vital oncogenic processes such as differentiation, proliferation, migration, angiogenesis and apoptosis have attracted much attention as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in leukemia. Emerging lines of evidence have shown that the mutational spectrum and dysregulated expression of non-coding RNA genes are closely associated with the development and progression of various cancers, including leukemia. In this review, we highlight the expression and functional roles of different types of non-coding RNAs in leukemia and discuss their potential clinical applications as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Ubiquilin Networking in Cancers

“…MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (19-22 nucleotides in length) that are known to be fundamental regulators of eukaryotic gene expression. miRNAs contribute to the regulation of a variety of biological processes, such as cell cycle, differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, autophagy, stress tolerance, energy metabolism and immune response [95][96][97][98]. Furthermore, it is known that miRNAs play a critical role in cancer pathogenesis and the dysregulation of miRNAs is a well-known feature of cancer.…”

CircRNAs Dysregulated in Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia: CircMCTP1 Stands Out

“…CircRNA-encoded peptides were shown to function in the regulation of cell differentiation ( Legnini et al, 2017 ) and cancer progression ( Rossi et al, 2019 ). More and more, the key role of circRNAs in leukemogenesis is emerging ( Bonizzato et al, 2016 ; Jamal et al, 2019 ; Buratin et al, 2020 ) and perturbation of circRNA propagates in regulatory networks ( Bhat et al, 2020 ) and signaling pathways, with pleiotropic effects.…”

Mechanistic Actions of microRNAs in Diabetic Wound Healing

“…This suggests that miRNA expression and function may be altered long before hyperglycemia is diagnosed, causing important changes in metabolism from an early stage. Furthermore, microRNAs (miRNAs) are not only important epigenetic regulators of metabolism [ 12 ], but the expression of these key molecules can also be highly regulated by epigenetic modifications, including histone modifications and DNA methylation [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Therefore, it is important to uncover these early changes in miRNA expression in order to best target for treatment those at the highest risk.…”