title: The pathological role of microRNAs and inflammation in colon carcinogenesis.
abstract: Evidence of an association between inflammation, microRNAs (miRNAs) and tumorigenesis has emerged in recent years. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at an increased risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) development, suggesting that inflammatory mediators play a causative role in colon carcinogenesis. MiRNAs are small (19-22 nucleotides) non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level by base-pairing to specific messenger RNAs (mRNAs), promoting their degradation or suppressing translation. MiRNAs can act as inflammatory mediators, oncogenes or tumor suppressors in different cellular environments. MiRNAs also serve as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in CRC. The risk of CRC is also influenced by miRNA polymorphisms and binding sites. Their functions as early diagnostic biomarkers or prognostic classifiers has been demonstrated. Here, we reviewed recent findings on miRNAs and inflammation in colon carcinogenesis and discussed the potential for miRNAs and inflammation-related genes as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in CRC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University, 1508, Longhang road, 201508 Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University, 1508, Longhang road, 201508 Shanghai, China. Electronic address: xiaomingfan57@sina.com.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D063646:Carcinogenesis; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000150:complications*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000502:physiology*; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D035683:MicroRNAs