Roles of miR-200 family members in lung cancer: more than tumor suppressors

• Published in: Future oncology (London, England) England), 2018-11, Vol.14 (27), p.2875-2886
• Main Authors: Liu, Cong, Hu, Wei, Li, Lin-Lin, Wang, Yu-Xuan, Zhou, Qun, Zhang, Feng, Song-Yang, Yi-Yan, Zhu, Wei, Sun, Cheng-Chao, Li, De-Jia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Apoptosis; Apoptosis - genetics; Binding sites; Biomarkers; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - genetics; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - pathology; Cell Differentiation - genetics; Cell Proliferation - genetics; Disease Progression; drug resistance; EMT; Epigenesis, Genetic; epigenetic regulation; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition - genetics; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Genes, Tumor Suppressor; Humans; Lung cancer; Lung Neoplasms - genetics; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Medical prognosis; Medical screening; Metastasis; MicroRNAs; MicroRNAs - genetics; MicroRNAs - metabolism; miR-200s; miRNAs; NSCLC; radiosensitivity
• ISSN: 1479-6694; 1744-8301
• DOI: 10.2217/fon-2018-0155

miRNAs are a class of single-stranded noncoding RNAs, which have no coding potential, but modulate many molecular mechanisms including cancer pathogenesis. miRNAs participate in cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, as well as carcinogenesis or cancer progression, and their involvement in lung cancer has been recently shown. They are suggested to have bidirectional functions on important cancer-related genes so as to enhance or attenuate tumor genesis. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a fundamental process which contributes to integrity of organogenesis and tissue differentiation as well as tissue repair, organ fibrosis and the progression of carcinoma, and several miRNAs were suggested to form the network regulating EMT in lung cancer, among which, miR-200 family members (miR-200a, miR-200b, miR-200c, miR-429 and miR-141) play crucial roles in the suppression of EMT. The function of the miR-200 family in lung carcinoma initiation and progression has been clarified in recent years, but at the same time some debates about their exact functional roles appeared. In this review, we will make a summary of recent studies about the unusual functions and mechanisms of miR-200 family in lung cancer.