MicroRNA-122 in human cancers: from mechanistic to clinical perspectives

Mahboobeh Faramin Lashkarian; Nasrin Hashemipour; Negin Niaraki; Shahrad Soghala; Ali Moradi; Sareh Sarhangi; Mahsa Hatami; Fatemehsadat Aghaei-Zarch; Mina Khosravifar; Alireza Mohammadzadeh; Sajad Najafi; Jamal Majidpoor; Poopak Farnia; Seyed Mohsen Aghaei-Zarch

doi:10.1186/s12935-023-02868-z

MicroRNA-122 in human cancers: from mechanistic to clinical perspectives

Cancer Cell Int. 2023 Feb 20;23(1):29. doi: 10.1186/s12935-023-02868-z.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Molecular Genetics, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Biology, School of Science, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.
³ Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ School of Advanced Sciences and Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
⁶ Department of Genetics, School of Advanced Sciences and Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
⁷ Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁸ School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
⁹ Institute of Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Research Center, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran.
¹¹ Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. sajadnajafi1990@yahoo.com.
¹² Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Infectious Disease Research Center, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran. jmajidpoor@gmail.com.
¹³ Mycobacteriology Research Centre, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. p.farnia@sbmu.ac.ir.
¹⁴ Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. mosenaghaei123@gmail.com.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous short non-coding RNAs that can regulate the expression of target genes post-transcriptionally and interact with mRNA-coding genes. MiRNAs play vital roles in many biological functions, and abnormal miRNA expression has been linked to various illnesses, including cancer. Among the miRNAs, miR-122, miR-206, miR-21, miR-210, miR-223, and miR-424 have been extensively studied in various cancers. Although research in miRNAs has grown considerably over the last decade, much is yet to be discovered, especially regarding their role in cancer therapies. Several kinds of cancer have been linked to dysregulation and abnormal expression of miR-122, indicating that miR-122 may serve as a diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarker for human cancer. Consequently, in this review literature, miR-122 has been analyzed in numerous cancer types to sort out the function of cancer cells miR-122 and enhance patient response to standard therapy.

Keywords: Cancer; Pathogenesis; Prognosis; Therapy; miR-122.

Publication types

Review