Identifying novel mechanisms contributing to patient variability of drug response is a major goal of personalized medicine. Epigenetic regulation of gene expression by microRNA (miRNA) impacts a broad range of cellular processes, but knowledge of its regulation of drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) is more limited. This review provides an introduction to miRNA and their functionality and summarizes known miRNA regulation of DME families, including the cytochrome P450s, UDP-glucuronoslytransferases, glutathione-S-transferases, sulfotransferases and aldo-keto reductases, and the transcription factors known to be involved in DME regulation.
Keywords: epigenetic regulation; metabolizing enzymes; miRNA; phase I metabolism; phase II metabolism; transcription factors.