title: Competing endogenous RNA: A novel posttranscriptional regulatory dimension associated with the progression of cancer.
abstract: The existence of artificial sponges and antisense oligonucleotides designed to decrease the availability of microRNAs (miRNAs), a family of small non-coding RNAs that target RNA transcripts through miRNA response elements (MREs) involved in gene expression, suggests that miRNAs may also be regulated. The wide range of RNA transcripts harboring MREs, termed competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs), includes protein-coding messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and non-coding RNAs, for example long non-coding RNAs, pseudogenes and circular RNAs, which compete for a common pool of miRNAs as natural decoys. These ceRNAs are co-regulated and produce large, complex posttranscriptional regulatory networks, which have been implicated in numerous biological processes. The present review discusses recent discoveries that implicate natural microRNA decoys in the development of cancer.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Medical Molecule Activity Research, Guangdong Medical College, Dongguan, Guangdong 523000, P.R. China ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guangdong Medical College, Dongguan, Guangdong 523000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qingsong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guangdong Medical College, Dongguan, Guangdong 523000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jixia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Medical Molecule Activity Research, Guangdong Medical College, Dongguan, Guangdong 523000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Keyuan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Medical Molecule Activity Research, Guangdong Medical College, Dongguan, Guangdong 523000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liang
keywords: cancer; competing endogenous RNA; microRNA