The Ambivalent Role of miRNAs in Carcinogenesis: Involvement in Renal Cell Carcinoma and Their Clinical Applications

Abstract

The analysis of microRNA (miRNAs), small, non-coding endogenous RNA, plays a crucial role in oncology. These short regulatory sequences, acting on thousands of messenger RNAs (mRNAs), modulate gene expression at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level leading to translational repression or degradation of target molecules. Although their function is required for several physiological processes, such as proliferation, apoptosis and cell differentiation, miRNAs are also responsible for development and/or progression of several cancers, since they may interact with classical tumor pathways. In this review, we highlight recent advances in deregulated miRNAs in cancer focusing on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and provide an overview of the potential use of miRNA in their clinical settings, such as diagnostic and prognostic markers.

The Pathogenic Role of PI3K/AKT Pathway in Cancer Onset and Drug Resistance: An Updated Review

“…Recent studies have evidenced the encoding of microRNAs (miRNAs) as participants in the pathogenesis of cancer, emerging as a new class of important regulators of the PI3K/AKT pathway [69,70]. These small-size RNA molecules regulate the expression of target genes by binding with their 3′ untranslated regions or, alternatively, with 5′ untranslated regions [71][72][73]. The altered expression of miRNAs in cancer cells works by deregulating the expression of genes related to apoptosis or autophagy that play a central role in the mechanisms of action of drug resistance [74].…”

TGF‑β1 affects the renal cancer miRNome and regulates tumor cells proliferation

“…Previous studies suggested that miRNAs can regulate the proliferation of Rcc cells (14)(15)(16). Therefore, the present study first analyzed the global changes in the miRNA expression profile following TGF-β1 treatment.…”

Role of Complement in Regulating Inflammation Processes in Renal and Prostate Cancers

“…Despite localized ccRCC being treated by partial or total surgical ablation of the kidney, metastatic ccRCC remains a clinical challenge, with 5-year overall survival rates of 0-20%. In addition to high vascularization (due, in part, to the Von Hippel-Lindau, VHL mutations), many ccRCC tumors have an important inflammatory cell infiltrate [82][83][84][85][86][87][88].…”