MicroRNA-21: Mechanisms of Oncogenesis and its Application in Diagnosis and Prognosis of Gastric Cancer.
Gastric cancer is a silent killer, claiming more than seven hundred thousand lives every year. This heavy burden creates an irrefutable need for accurate, noninvasive methods of population screening and early detection as well as disease monitoring and management. Gastric cancer is a multi-factorial disease with an uneven geographic distribution, mostly affecting the developing countries and Southeast Asia. The multi-dimensional roles of microRNAs in gene regulation and tumorigenesis have prompted investigators to explore their potentials in diagnosis and treatment of various cancers, including gastric cancer.  In this respect, miR-21 has attracted much attention as well as generating some controversies. Here, we aim to describe, in a chronological order, the numerous studies which have explored 1) the interactions of this oncomir with Helicobacter pylori infection, as a class I gastric carcinogen, 2) its potential mechanisms of oncogenicity, by various induction/inhibition assays, and 3) its application as a diagnostic/prognostic invasive (tissue) and non-invasive (circulating) biomarker.
1)HPGC Group, Medical Biotechnology Department, Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. 2)Department of Molecular Genetics, Fars Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran.
Zana
Z
Karimi Kurdistani
HPGC Group, Medical Biotechnology Department, Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
Samaneh
S
Saberi
Department of Medical Education and Research, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Kuo-Wang
KW
Tsai
HPGC Group, Medical Biotechnology Department, Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
Marjan
M
Mohammadi
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C524940:MIRN21 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs