title: MicroRNAs: Novel immunotherapeutic targets in colorectal carcinoma.
abstract: Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide and the prognosis for CRC patients with recurrence or metastasis is extremely poor. Although chemotherapy and radiation therapy can improve survival, there are still numerous efforts to be performed. Immunotherapy is frequently used, either alone or in combination with other therapies, for the treatment of CRC and is a safe and feasible way to improve CRC treatment. Furthermore, the significance of the immune system in the biology of CRC has been demonstrated by retrospective assessments of immune infiltrates in resected CRC tumors. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNAs that can regulate multiple target genes at the post-transcriptional level and play critical roles in cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. MiRNAs are required for normal immune system development and function. Nevertheless, aberrant expression of miRNAs is often observed in various tumor types and leads to immune disorders or immune evasion. The immunomodulatory function of miRNAs indicates that miRNAs may ultimately be part of the portfolio of anti-cancer targets. Herein, we will review the potential roles of miRNAs in the regulation of the immune response in CRC and then move on to discuss how to utilize different miRNA targets to treat CRC. We also provide an overview of the major limitations and challenges of using miRNAs as immunotherapeutic targets.
authors.affiliation: Xiang Li, Jing Nie, Qian Mei, Wei-Dong Han, Department of Molecular Biology, School of Life Sciences, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Xiang Li, Jing Nie, Qian Mei, Wei-Dong Han, Department of Molecular Biology, School of Life Sciences, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: Xiang Li, Jing Nie, Qian Mei, Wei-Dong Han, Department of Molecular Biology, School of Life Sciences, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.affiliation: Xiang Li, Jing Nie, Qian Mei, Wei-Dong Han, Department of Molecular Biology, School of Life Sciences, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Dong
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000235:genetics; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000235:genetics*; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011379:Prognosis; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: Colorectal carcinoma; Immune response; Immunotherapy; Inflammation; Inflammatory bowel disease; Tumor microenvironment; microRNAs