Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 5, 2025

An In Vitro Protocol for Evaluating MicroRNA Levels, Functions, and Associated Target Genes in Tumor Cells
09:45

An In Vitro Protocol for Evaluating MicroRNA Levels, Functions, and Associated Target Genes in Tumor Cells

Published on: May 21, 2019

8.4K

The regulatory mechanisms of oncomiRs in cancer

Khalid Otmani1, Redouane Rouas1, Mimoune Berehab1

  • 1Hematology Laboratory, Hematology Department, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (H.U.B.) Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.

Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & Pharmacotherapie
|January 18, 2024
PubMed

Insights

This review explores how oncogenic microRNAs (oncomiRs) are upregulated in cancer. Understanding these epigenetic mechanisms is key to targeting oncomiRs for cancer therapy.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Epigenetics
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Cancer arises from genetic alterations and epigenetic dysregulation affecting signaling pathways.
  • MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key epigenetic regulators influencing tumor development.
  • miRNAs are classified as oncogenic (oncomiRs) or tumor suppressive (TS miRNAs) based on their targets.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To summarize mechanisms controlling the upregulation of oncomiRs in cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME).
  • To highlight the role of non-transcriptional processes, like gene amplification, in oncomiR overexpression.
  • To provide insights into the critical role of oncomiRs in cancer development and progression.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on miRNA regulation in cancer.
  • Analysis of transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and non-transcriptional mechanisms.
  • Focus on oncomiR expression control in cancer cells and the TME.

Main Results:

  • OncomiR upregulation is driven by various regulatory mechanisms.
  • Transcriptional and post-transcriptional modifications are common, but non-transcriptional processes like gene amplification also contribute.
  • These mechanisms are active in both cancer cells and the surrounding tumor microenvironment.

Conclusions:

  • Detailed understanding of oncomiR upregulation mechanisms is crucial for cancer research.
  • Elucidating these pathways can reveal the critical role of oncomiRs in tumorigenesis.
  • This knowledge may facilitate the development of novel cancer therapeutic strategies targeting oncomiRs.
Keywords:
Oncomirs regulationTumor developmentTumor micro-environment

More Related Videos

Analysis of Combinatorial miRNA Treatments to Regulate Cell Cycle and Angiogenesis11:44

Analysis of Combinatorial miRNA Treatments to Regulate Cell Cycle and Angiogenesis

Published on: March 30, 2019

7.6K
Integration of Bioinformatics Approaches and Experimental Validations to Understand the Role of Notch Signaling in Ovarian Cancer09:08

Integration of Bioinformatics Approaches and Experimental Validations to Understand the Role of Notch Signaling in Ovarian Cancer

Published on: January 12, 2020

6.7K

Related Concept Videos

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
3.8K
Abnormal Proliferation02:23

Abnormal Proliferation

Under normal conditions, most adult cells remain in a non-proliferative state unless stimulated by internal or external factors to replace lost cells. Abnormal cell proliferation is a condition in which the cell's growth exceeds and is uncoordinated with normal cells. In such situations, cell division persists in the same excessive manner even after cessation of the stimuli, leading to persistent tumors. The tumor arises from the damaged cells that replicate to pass the damage to the...
4.5K
MicroRNAs01:22

MicroRNAs

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns (non-coding regions of a gene) or intergenic regions (stretches of DNA present between genes). Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself, forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA...
3.0K
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells02:53

Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells

Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
5.8K
Epigenetic Regulation01:37

Epigenetic Regulation

Epigenetic changes alter the physical structure of the DNA without changing the genetic sequence and often regulate whether genes are turned on or off. This regulation ensures that each cell produces only proteins necessary for its function. For example, proteins that promote bone growth are not produced in muscle cells. Epigenetic mechanisms play an essential role in healthy development. Conversely, precisely regulated epigenetic mechanisms are disrupted in diseases like cancer.
X-chromosome...
3.0K
Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes01:33

Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
8.9K