MiR-145: a potential biomarker of cancer migration and invasion

MircoRNAs (miRNAs) are a diverse family of highly-conserved small non-coding RNAs, which range from approximately 18 to 25 nucleotides in size. They regulate gene expression transcriptionally or post-transcriptionally via binding to the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of target message RNAs (mRNAs). MiRNAs have emerged as molecular regulators that participate in physiological and pathological processes of diverse malignancies. Among them, miRNA-145 (miR-145) played a profound role in tumorigenesis and progression of various neoplasms. In this review, we summarized the recent findings regarding miR-145, to elucidate its functional roles in cell invasion and migration of diverse human malignancies, and considered it a potential biomarker for cancer diagnosis, screening, and prognosis.