title: Microenvironmental regulation of cancer metastasis by miRNAs.
abstract: miRNAs are a class of small, non-coding RNAs that regulate cancer progression, especially the processes of invasion and metastasis. Although earlier studies in metastasis primarily focused on the impact that miRNAs have on the intrinsic properties of cancer cells, recent reports reveal that miRNAs also shape interactions between cancer cells and their associated stroma. In this review, we discuss current known mechanisms by which miRNAs execute their microenvironmental regulation of cancer metastasis, including regulating expression of cell membrane-bound and secreted proteins or directly transmitting mature miRNAs between different cell types. The significance of miRNA-mediated tumor-stroma interactions in regulating metastasis suggests that miRNAs may be a potential therapeutic target.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Pengyuan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. Electronic address: xiao.fan.wang@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Xiao-Fan
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: circulating miRNA; metastasis; tumor microenvironment; tumor–stroma interaction