From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutics: Understanding MicroRNA-21 in Cancer

• Published in: Cells (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 11; no. 18; p. 2791
• Main Authors: Rhim, Jiho, Baek, Woosun, Seo, Yoona, Kim, Jong Heon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma; biomarker; Biosynthesis; Breast cancer; Cancer; Care and treatment; Cell death; Epidermal growth factor; Gene expression; Glioblastoma; Health aspects; Kinases; Lung cancer; Metastasis; MicroRNA; microRNA-21; MicroRNAs; miRNA; Molecular modelling; Mutation; Non-small cell lung carcinoma; noncoding RNA; Post-transcription; Proteins; Review; RNA polymerase; RNA therapeutics; Small cell lung carcinoma; Therapeutic targets; South Korea
• ISSN: 2073-4409; 2073-4409
• DOI: 10.3390/cells11182791

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that play an important role in regulating gene expression at a posttranscriptional level. As one of the first discovered oncogenic miRNAs, microRNA-21 (miR-21) has been highlighted for its critical role in cancers, such as glioblastoma, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and many others. MiR-21 targets many vital components in a wide range of cancers and acts on various cellular processes ranging from cancer stemness to cell death. Expression of miR-21 is elevated within cancer tissues and circulating miR-21 is readily detectable in biofluids, making it valuable as a cancer biomarker with significant potential for use in diagnosis and prognosis. Advances in RNA-based therapeutics have revealed additional avenues by which miR-21 can be utilized as a promising target in cancer. The purpose of this review is to outline the roles of miR-21 as a key modulator in various cancers and its potential as a therapeutic target.