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MicroRNA-21: a ubiquitously expressed pro-survival factor in cancer and other diseases

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Abstract

MiRNAs are a new class of small RNA molecules that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional and translational levels. MiRNAs have been implicated in the control of many vital biological processes including development, cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. A growing number of studies have shown that miRNAs also play an important role in carcinogenesis and other diseases. Among the miRNAs identified, miRNA-21 is dramatically up-regulated in cancer cells of various origins. It regulates a wide range of genes and pathways involved in cancer initiation, transformation, invasion, and metastasis. MiRNA-21 also acts as a pro-survival factor in cardiovascular diseases. Aberrant expression in these diseases makes miRNA-21 a potential marker for disease diagnosis and prognosis. This review highlights the complex roles that miRNA-21 plays in cancer and cardiovascular diseases and its potential clinical applications.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. James Psathas of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for his assistance in this work and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments. Funding was provided by the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-10-0607), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (SWJTU11CX116) and J1103518.

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  1. Key Laboratory of Bio-resources and Eco-environment (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Si Li, Zhu Liang & Fangdong Zou

  2. School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Liu Xu

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  1. Si Li
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Correspondence to Fangdong Zou.

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Li, S., Liang, Z., Xu, L. et al. MicroRNA-21: a ubiquitously expressed pro-survival factor in cancer and other diseases. Mol Cell Biochem 360, 147–158 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-011-1052-6

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