MicroRNAs in cervical carcinoma

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to have important roles in various cellular processes, such as metabolism, proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and development. Recent studies have shown that the expression of miRNAs is deregulated in human cancers in which miRNAs can exert their effect as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. The widespread and comprehensive use of miRNA microarrays has enabled the identification of a number of miRNAs as potential biomarkers for cancer. The pathogenesis of cervical cancer is well-known to involve a multi-step process that includes the transformation of normal cervical epithelium to pre-neoplastic cervical intraepithelial neoplasia that is subsequently transformed to invasive cervical cancer. Although the causal relationship between high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer has been well-documented in epidemiologic and functional studies, HPV infection alone is not sufficient to induce the malignant transformation of HPV-infected cells. Hence, other unidentified genetic alterations, such as miRNAs, are required. The differential expression of miRNAs in cervical cancer cells or tissues compared with normal controls has been reported, and candidate miRNAs functioning as oncogenes (including miR-21, miR-127, miR-146a, miR-199a) and tumor suppressors (including miR-34a, miR-143, miR-145, miR-200a, miR-218) in cervical cancer carcinogenesis have been suggested. Herein we have reviewed recently reported studies involving miRNAs in cervical cancer cell lines and tissues, and summarized the potential for using miRNAs as biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapies for cervical carcinoma. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.