miR‐203a—A multifaceted regulator modulating cancer hallmarks and therapy response

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of noncoding RNAs of about 19–25 nucleotides, which serve as critical modulators of various cellular and biological processes by target gene regulation. Dysregulated expression of miRNAs modulates the pathophysiology of various human diseases, including cancer. Among miRNAs, miR‐203a is one of the most extensively researched dysregulated miRNAs in different cancers. Our review investigated the roles of miR‐203a in the hallmarks of cancer modulating different pathways through target gene regulations, chemoresistance, its crosstalk with other ncRNAs or genes in terms of ceRNAs impacting oncogenesis, and its potential applications in the diagnosis, prognosis, and chemotherapeutic responses in different cancer types. miR‐203a impacts cancer cell behavior by regulating these exclusive hallmarks‐ sustaining proliferation, cell growth, invasion and metastasis, cell death, and angiogenesis. Besides, miR‐203a is found in human circulating biofluids like plasma or serum of colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma, hinting at its potential as a biomarker. Further, miR‐203a is involved in enhancing the chemosensitivity of cisplatin, docetaxel, paclitaxel, doxorubicin, and 5‐fluorouracil in a variety of malignancies through their cognate target genes. These results suggest that miR‐203a is a crucial multifaceted miRNA that controls cancer cell proliferation, metastasis, and chemotherapy response, shedding new light on its possible application.

Coupling Exponential to Linear Amplification for Endpoint Quantitative Analysis

“…The assay was calibrated for two miRNAs, let‐7a and miR‐203a, both of which have been demonstrated to be associated with cancer diseases. [ 21 , 22 ] The amplification mixture was spiked with a varying concentration of either of these miRNAs and the endpoint fluorescence of rTω (t = 1000 min) is reported in Figure 5C . As expected, the endpoint signal is positively correlated to the miRNA concentration over 6 orders of magnitude, with a limit of detection (LoD, determined from the mean signal of the negative control plus 3 times the standard deviation) of 17 and 33 f m for let‐7a and miR‐203a, respectively.…”

The Current Situation and Development Prospect of Whole-Genome Screening

“…RNA interference (RNAi) is an effective method that is widely used in functional genomics [ 9 , 10 , 11 ], including genetic screening, genetic function identification, signal transduction, and gene therapy. RNAi refers to the efficient and specific degradation of mRNA induced by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) of identical sequences, finally leading to gene silencing.…”