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Updated: Jan 25, 2026

An In Vitro Protocol for Evaluating MicroRNA Levels, Functions, and Associated Target Genes in Tumor Cells
Published on: May 21, 2019
MicroRNA-221 and MicroRNA-222 in Common Human Cancers: Expression, Function, and Triggering of Tumor Progression as a
Sima Amini1,2, Atefe Abak1,2, Ebrahim Sakhinia2,3
1Biotechnology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Abstract:
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of short (~22 nucleotides [nt]), single-stranded RNA oligonucleotides that are regulatory in nature and are often dysregulated in various diseases, including cancer. miRNAs can act as oncomiRs (miRNAs associated with cancer) or tumor suppressor miRNAs and have the potential to be a diagnostic, prognostic, noninvasive biomarker for these diseases. MicroRNA-221 (miR-221) and microRNA-222 (miR-222) are homologous miRNAs, located on the human chromosome Xp11.3, which factored significantly in impairment in the regulation of a wide range of cancers. In this review, we have highlighted the most consistently reported dysregulated miRNAs that trigger human tissues to express cancerous features and surveyed the role of those miRNAs in metastasis, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and tumor prognosis. Also, we applied the causes of drug resistance and the role of coordinated actions of these miRNAs to epigenetic changes and selected miRNAs as a potential type of cancer treatment.
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