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MicroRNAs — the micro steering wheel of tumour metastases

Nature Reviews Cancer volume 9, pages 293–302 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been discovered to have a role in metastasis. Here we describe how miRNAs are involved in advanced stages of tumour progression, stressing their roles as metastasis activators or suppressors, and discuss their possible use in the clinic as predictive markers and as therapeutic strategies for patients with metastases. Furthermore, we develop the concept that the same miRNAs could be involved both in the cancer stem cell phenotype and in the ability of specific cancer cells to produce metastases, thus representing a mechanistic link between the initial and the final steps of tumorigenesis.

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Figure 1: microRNA (miRNA)-regulated pathways in tumour metastasis.

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Acknowledgements

G.A.C. is supported as a Fellow at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Research Trust, and as a Fellow of The University of Texas System Regents Research Scholar and by the Ladjevardian Regents Research Scholar Fund. This study was supported in part by an Institutional Research Grant, by a Cancer Center Support Grant (New Faculty Award), by a CTT/3I-TD grant and by a Breast Cancer SPORE Developmental Award to G.A.C.

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  1. Simona Rossi and George A. Calin are at the Experimental Therapeutics Department, Milena S. Nicoloso, Riccardo Spizzo, Masayoshi Shimizu, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. gcalin@mdanderson.org,

    Milena S. Nicoloso, Riccardo Spizzo, Masayoshi Shimizu, Simona Rossi & George A. Calin

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DATABASES

miRBase

miR-107

miR-10a

miR-10b

miR-126

miR-141

miR-146a

miR-148a

miR-155

miR-15a

miR-16-1

miR-200a

miR-200b

miR-200c

miR-205

miR-206

miR-20a

miR-20b

miR-21

miR-210

miR-221

miR-222

miR-27a

miR-27b

miR-29c

miR-335

miR-34a

miR-34b

miR-34c

miR-373

miR-429

miR-520c

miR-9-3

miR-92a

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miRGen

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Nicoloso, M., Spizzo, R., Shimizu, M. et al. MicroRNAs — the micro steering wheel of tumour metastases. Nat Rev Cancer 9, 293–302 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc2619

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