title: Regulatory mechanisms and clinical perspectives of miR-34a in cancer.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are evolutionarily conserved, endogenous, noncoding RNA molecules of about 22-24 nucleotides in length that repress gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. MiR-34a plays an important role in the initiation, progression, and therapy of cancer. In addition, the miR-34a expression has also been identified as a diagnostic and prognostic cancer signature. This article introduces the roles of miR-34a in cancer development, metastasis as well as its mechanism of actions on target genes and the functional outcomes of its actions on radio-sensitivity. The paper ends with a brief perspective to the future of miR-34a.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: C522425:MIRN34 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs