MicroRNA Regulation of Glycolytic Metabolism in Glioblastoma

Abstract

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive and common malignant brain tumour in adults. A well-known hallmark of GMB and many other tumours is aerobic glycolysis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of short nonprotein coding sequences that exert posttranscriptional controls on gene expression and represent critical regulators of aerobic glycolysis in GBM. In GBM, miRNAs regulate the expression of glycolytic genes directly and via the regulation of metabolism-associated tumour suppressors and oncogenic signalling pathways. This review aims to establish links between miRNAs expression levels, the expression of GBM glycolytic regulatory genes, and the malignant progression and prognosis of GBM. In this review, the involvement of 25 miRNAs in the regulation of glycolytic metabolism of GBM is discussed. Seven of these miRNAs have been shown to regulate glycolytic metabolism in other tumour types. Further eight miRNAs, which are differentially expressed in GBM, have also been reported to regulate glycolytic metabolism in other cancer types. Thus, these miRNAs could serve as potential glycolytic regulators in GBM but will require functional validation. As such, the characterisation of these molecular and metabolic signatures in GBM can facilitate a better understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of this disease.