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Oncogenic and tumor suppressive roles of microRNAs in apoptosis and autophagy

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Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small and non-coding endogenous RNAs ∼22 nucleotides (nt) in length, have been known to regulate approximately 30 % of human gene expression at the post-transcriptional and translational levels. Accumulating data have demonstrated that certain miRNAs could exert an oncogenic and/or tumor suppressive function and might play essential roles in the regulation of apoptosis and autophagy in cancer. In this review, we summarize that certain oncogenic and tumor suppressive miRNAs could modulate apoptotic pathways in different types of cancer. Subsequently, we demonstrate that other miRNAs might play regulatory roles in the autophagic pathways of cancer. A limited number of oncogenic/tumor suppressive miRNAs could regulate apoptosis and autophagy, respectively, and cooperatively. Taken together, these findings would provide a new clue to elucidate more apoptotic and/or autophagic mechanisms of miRNAs for designing potential novel therapeutic strategies in cancer.

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Abbreviations

3′-UTR:

3′-Untranslated region

Atg:

Autophagy-related gene

ATM:

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated

CCND1:

Cyclin D1

C. elegans :

Caenorhabditis elegans

CLL:

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia

CML:

Chronic myelogenous leukemia

COX-2:

Cyclooxygenase-2

CRC:

Colorectal cancer

cyto. c :

Cytochrome c

DISC:

Death-inducing signaling complex

ER-α:

Estrogen receptor alpha

EZH2:

Enhancer of zeste homolog 2

FAF1:

Fas-associated factor 1

FAP-1:

Fas-associated phosphatase-1

FADD:

Fas-associated death domain

FIP200:

Focal adhesion kinase family interacting protein of 200 kDa

GC:

Gastric cancer

HCC:

Hepatocellular carcinoma

HMGA2:

High mobility group A2

HMGB1:

High mobility group box 1

hnRNP A1:

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1

LNN:

Lymph node negative

MET:

Mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor

miRNA:

MicroRNA

MLL:

Mixed-lineage leukemia

mTORC1:

Mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1

NKTL:

NK/T cell lymphoma

NSCLC:

Non-small cell lung cancer

MB:

Medulloblastoma

MM:

Multiple myeloma

PDCD4:

Programmed cell death 4

PLK1:

Polo-like kinase 1

PRC1:

Protein regulator of cytokinesis 1

PSC:

Pancreatic stellate cell

RCC:

Renal cell carcinoma

TP53INP1:

Tumor protein 53-induced nuclear protein 1

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Yan Cheng (Pennsylvania State University) for her critical review on this manuscript. We are also grateful to the revision of this manuscript by Elsevier Webshop. This work was supported by grants from the National 973 Basic Research Program of China (No. 2010CB529900), the Key Projects of the National Science and Technology Pillar Program (No. 2012BAI30B02), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81160543, 81260628, 81303270 and 81172374), the West China Hospital-Chengdu Science and Technology Department Translational Medicine Innovation Foundation (No. ZH13039), and the Shenyang Pharmaceutical University Scientific Research Fund (No. ZCJJ2013407).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Y. Chen, X. Wen, B. Liu & Y. Q. Wei

  2. College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China

    L. L. Fu

  3. School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, 110016, China

    J. Huang

  4. College of Pharmacy, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, 830011, China

    J. H. Wang

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  1. Y. Chen
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  2. L. L. Fu
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  4. B. Liu
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  5. J. Huang
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  6. J. H. Wang
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Correspondence to B. Liu or J. Huang.

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Y. Chen, L. L. Fu and X. Wen have contributed equally to this work.

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Chen, Y., Fu, L.L., Wen, X. et al. Oncogenic and tumor suppressive roles of microRNAs in apoptosis and autophagy. Apoptosis 19, 1177–1189 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10495-014-0999-7

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