MiRNAs and LincRNAs: could they be considered as biomarkers in colorectal cancer?

Abstract

Recent advances in the field of R NA research have provided compelling evidence implicating microRNA (miRNA) a nd long non-coding RNA molecules in many diverse and substantial biological processes, in cluding transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, genomic impr inting, and modulation of protein activity. Thus, studies of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) may contribute to the discovery of possible biomarkers in human cancers. Considering that the response to chemotherapy can differ amongst individuals, researchers have begun to isolate and identify the genes responsible. Identification of targets of this ncRNA associat ed with cancer can suggest that networks of these linked to oncogenes or tumor suppressors play pivotal roles in cancer development. Moreover, these ncRNA are attractive drug ta rgets since they may be differentially expressed in malignant versus normal cells and regulate expre ssion of critical proteins in the cell. This review focuses on ncRNAs that are differently expresse d in malignant tissue, and discusses some of challenges derived fro m their use as potential biomarkers of tumor properties