核仁小RNA：肿瘤及其他多种疾病的新型分子标志物

核仁小RNA(snoRNA)是非编码RNA(ncRNA)中的一类,主要参与核糖体RNA转录过程的修饰。snoRNA是某些微小RNA的前体,也可由长链非编码RNA进一步加工而来;此外,snoRNA也是参与细胞各种生理和病理过程的重要调控分子。snoRNA与肿瘤及其他多种疾病的发生、发展、预后不良息息相关,甚至可以作为潜在的治疗靶点。该文就snoRNA的基础结构、生物学功能、检测方法、相关数据库,以及snoRNA在肿瘤及其他多种疾病中的研究进展进行综述。     

环状RNA:非编码RNA研究新方向

环状RNA(Circular RNAs,circRNAs)是一类新型的非编码RNA,其首尾通过共价键形成闭合的环,表现出与线性RNA不同的特性。circRNA大量存在于真核细胞转录组中,在物种间具有保守性,表达稳定且具有组织及发展阶段特异性。circRNA不易被核酸外切酶RNase R降解,在体液中较线性RNA更稳定,因而具有作为临床诊断及预后标志物的潜在应用价值。目前的研究发现环状RNA能够发挥miRNA分子海绵作用,调控基因转录过程。CircRNA在心血管系统疾病、神经系统疾病、朊蛋白疾病及癌症等疾病中发挥重要作用,有望成为RNA领域研究新的热点。     

MicroRNA与妇科肿瘤

小分子RNA(micro RNA)的发现是分子生物学史上的又一个里程碑。micro RNA是一组单链非编码的RNA,由19²5个核苷酸(平均22个核苷酸)组成。研究证实micro RNA在生理及病理状态下调节转录后的基因表达。其调节功能与细胞周期的调节,细胞增殖分化,炎症反应及凋亡相关。在许多病理状态下观察到micro RNA表达谱的改变,如糖尿病,类风湿性关节炎以及一些癌症。本综述对micro RNA与妇科肿瘤的相关文献进行复习,总结micro RNA在妇科肿瘤的发病机制中的可能作用,讨论micro RNA作为妇科肿瘤早期诊断和治疗监控的肿瘤标记物的可能性,并对micro RNAs在妇科肿瘤中作为治疗靶点和预后判断因素的可能性进行讨论。     

长链非编码RNA的生物学特性及其在卵巢癌中的研究进展

目前,长链非编码RNA(LncRNA)在分子领域再次掀起了新热点。绝大多数的人类基因能够被转录,仅有不到2%的转录本编码蛋白质,剩下的转录本被称为非编码RNA(ncRNA)。而LncRNA,是为长度超过200个核苷酸的ncRNA。起初Lnc RNA被认为不具有生物学功能而被尘封了起来。最近,这个潘多拉盒慢慢地被打开,越来越多的研究表明LncRNA参与生物体的各种生理及病理过程,其中癌症研究最多。卵巢癌为妇科三大恶性肿瘤之一,死亡率居高。本综述总结了近年来LncRNA结构、功能及其在卵巢癌中的相关研究,以供后续攻克卵巢癌研究提供参考。     

microRNA在动脉粥样硬化中的研究进展

<正>microRNA (miRNA)是非蛋白编码的小分子单链RNA,长度约为20～25个核苷酸。作为真核生物中一种重要的调节因子,其广泛参与基因转录后水平的调控,参与生物体众多的发育时相调控、生理病理过程。动脉粥样硬化(atherosclerosis,AS)是心脑血管疾病的重要病因之一。近年来研究发现miRNA参与调控AS形成、发展、破裂的病理生理过程,参与调节血管内皮细胞、巨噬细胞及平滑肌细胞等多种细胞的生物学功能。本文就miRNA在AS发生发展中的作用及影响展开综述。     

MiR-133和MiR-294的功能研究进展

正MicroRNAs(miRNAs)是一类内源性非编码小RNA,研究表明miRNA参与了增殖、分化、凋亡、迁移等细胞进程,其对生物体的发育非常关键。其在干细胞的自我更新与分化;各种炎症以及各类肿瘤的发生和发展;表观遗传学层面的调控等方面都发挥着巨大的作用。本文主要介绍MiR-133家族,特别是MiR-133b在肌肉发育、肿瘤抑制等方面的功能和机制;miR-290     

环状RNA在肿瘤中的治疗进展

环状RNA(circ RNA)是一种大量存在于生物中的非编码RNA,因其特殊的环状结构得名。近年来发现,circ RNA具有高丰度性、稳定性、保守性的特点,并且能够作为微小RNA(mi RNA)的"海绵"、RNA结合蛋白(RBP)以及转录调节功能参与到基因的表达调控中去,从而对宫颈癌、食管癌、结肠癌等恶性肿瘤的发生发展起到重要作用。本文总结了circ RNA与肿瘤方面的前沿及经典研究,阐述了circ RNA的生成、生物学功能、在肿瘤中的作用及临床治疗中的意义。     

tRNA衍生片段（tRF）在肿瘤侵袭转移中的机制及研究进展

转运RNA(tRNA)衍生片段（tRF）又被称为tRNA衍生的小RNA(tsRNAs),是一类新兴的调节性非编码RNA,是在特定条件下特异性切割前tRNA或成熟tRNA而形成的。目前已发现tRF在肿瘤等多种疾病发展进程中具有独特的生物学功能,包括具有miRNA样作用及结合RNA结合蛋白（RBP）调节基因表达、蛋白质翻译、表观遗传学调控、调节细胞周期等。近年来多项研究表明tRF在乳腺癌、胃癌、结直肠癌、肝癌、肺癌、前列腺癌、白血病等多种肿瘤中异常表达并参与其发展进程。本文总结了它们的分类、生物发生、作用机制以及在肿瘤侵袭和转移中的生物意义,为肿瘤的新型诊断标记和治疗靶点的发现提供新思路。     

miR-17-92基因簇与肿瘤

微小RNA(miRNA)是近年来新发现的与肿瘤的发生发展密切相关的一类RNA。它可通过调控其靶标基因参与的信号通路,影响肿瘤的发生和发展,发挥着类似于癌基因或抑癌基因的功能,因此miRNA失调在肿瘤中起重要作用。较多的研究发现,miR-17-92簇与肿瘤的发生密切相关,具有癌基因和抑癌基因双重功能。本文就miR-17-92簇在肿瘤中的作用机制及功能作一综述。     

甲状腺肿瘤相关性非编码RNA研究进展

非编码RNA（non-codingRNA,ncRNA）是指除mRNA、tRNA和rRNA以外,不编码蛋白质的RNA。近年研究显示,ncRNA在细菌、真菌和哺乳动物等多种生物体的活动中可作为癌基因或抑癌基因,对肿瘤的发生、发展发挥调控作用。此外,ncRNA有希望成为肿瘤诊断的新型标志物。本文介绍了一些与甲状腺肿瘤相关的ncRNA最新研究进展,并着重讨论微RNA（miRNA）及长链非编码RNA（IncRNA）在甲状腺肿瘤发生、转移中的作用。     

环形RNA与相关疾病研究进展

环形RNA（circular RNA,circ RNA）是由前体RNA的5′末端和3′末端共价闭合形成一类非编码RNA,可竞争内源性RNA,具有miRNA海绵作用,调控基因的转录过程。circRNA与疾病的发生、发展和治疗关系密切,有望成为潜在的新型分子标志物和分子靶向治疗的靶点。     

Tumor suppressor microRNAs: Targeted molecules and signaling pathways in breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women whose prevalence is increasing every year. Common strategies for diagnosis, prognosis and specific treatment of breast cancer need improvements to increase patients’ survival. For this reason, there is growing number of efforts world-wide with molecular approaches. With the advent of microRNAs (miRNAs), they have been interested for almost all aspects of tumorgenesis and correlation of breast cancer and microRNAs was discovered for the first time in 2005. MiRNAs form a group of small noncoding RNAs which participate in regulation of gene expression and subsequently several biological processes and pathogenesis of various diseases. As other cancers, miRNAs involved in breast cancer are classified in two groups: the first group is tumor inducing miRNAs (also called oncomirs) that can induce tumor initiation and progression, and their expression is increased in cancerous cells. The second group is tumor suppressor miRNAs. In normal situation, tumor suppressor miRNAs prevent beginning and progression of breast cancer through suppressing the expression of various oncogenes. In this review we will give a general overview about miRNAs and breast cancer, and in the following, more discussion about tumor suppressor miRNAs, with focus on the best known of them and their targeted oncogenes and signaling pathways. Finally, we will point to application of this group of miRNAs in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of patients.     

The role of small RNAs in human diseases: potential troublemaker and therapeutic tools

Small RNAs, including short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs), are ubiquitous, versatile repressors of gene expression in plants, animals, and many fungi. They can trigger destruction of homologous mRNA or inhibition of cognate mRNA translation and play an important role in maintaining the stable state of chromosome structure and regulating the expression of protein-coding genes. Furthermore, the recent research showed that there exists close relationship between small RNAs and human diseases. Several human diseases have surfaced in which miRNAs or their machinery might be implicated, such as some neurological diseases and cancers. The specificity and potency of small RNAs suggest that they might be promising as therapeutic agents. This article will review the role of small RNAs in some human diseases etiology and investigations of taking siRNAs as therapeutic tools for treating viral infection, cancer, and other diseases. We also discuss the potential of miRNAs in gene therapy.     

Small non-coding RNAs in disease development and host-pathogen interactions

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) play critical roles in all physiological processes. Many ncRNAs have also been implicated in a variety of pathological disorders, including cancer. This review provides an overview of the roles of small ncRNAs in infectious diseases and genetic disorders, including diseases of the CNS and various cancers. There is a focus on the consequences of microRNA (miRNA) de-regulation in human diseases, and recent progress in understanding other disease-related classes of ncRNAs, such as small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), is presented. Finally, this review provides a brief perspective on new and powerful diagnostic strategies for human diseases that are based on ncRNA analysis, and presents novel potential approaches using ncRNAs as tools or targets for the treatment of such diseases.     

Targeting interleukin-6 in inflammatory autoimmune diseases and cancers

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine with significant functions in the regulation of the immune system. As a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-6 plays a pivotal role in host defense against pathogens and acute stress. However, increased or deregulated expression of IL-6 significantly contributes to the pathogenesis of various human diseases. Numerous preclinical and clinical studies have revealed the pathological roles of the IL-6 pathway in inflammation, autoimmunity, and cancer. Based on the rich body of studies on biological activities of IL-6 and its pathological roles, therapeutic strategies targeting the IL-6 pathway are in development for cancers, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Several anti-IL-6/IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibodies developed for targeted therapy have demonstrated promising results in both preclinical studies and clinical trials. Tocilizumab, an anti-IL-6 receptor antibody, is effective in the treatment of various autoimmune and inflammatory conditions notably rheumatoid arthritis. It is the only IL-6 pathway targeting agent approved by the regulatory agencies for clinical use. Siltuximab, an anti-IL-6 antibody, has been shown to have potential benefits treating various human cancers either as a single agent or in combination with other chemotherapy drugs. Several other anti-IL-6-based therapies are also under clinical development for various diseases. IL-6 antagonism has been shown to be a potential therapy for these disorders refractory to conventional drugs. New strategies, such as combination of IL-6 blockade with inhibition of other signaling pathways, may further improve IL-6-targeted immunotherapy of human diseases.     

MicroRNAs as New Players in the Genomic Galaxy and Disease Puzzles

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a large family of short, single‐stranded, highly conserved noncoding RNAs involved in gene regulation that can regulate gene expression through sequence‐specific base pairing with target messenger RNAs (mRNAs). miRNAs have been implicated in the development of a wide variety of cancers as well as heart disease and other diseases. This review describes the role of miRNAs in human disease, methodology for evaluating miRNA gene expression, and the potential role of miRNAs as therapeutic agents and targets for the treatment of disease.     

Anti-miRNA oligonucleotides (AMOs): ammunition to target miRNAs implicated in human disease?

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous 19-25 nucleotide RNAs that have recently emerged as a novel class of important gene-regulatory molecules involved in many critical developmental and cellular functions. miRNAs have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several human diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, and more recently in viral and metabolic diseases. Unraveling the roles of miRNAs in cellular processes linked to human diseases will lead to novel opportunities for the regulation of protein function and will help to evaluate their potential for therapeutic intervention. Approaches to interfere with miRNA function in vitro and in vivo based on synthetic anti-miRNA oligonucleotides (AMOs) are discussed in this review.