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Systems Biology Approaches in the Design of Effective miRNA-Targeted Therapeutics

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MicroRNA Targeted Cancer Therapy

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Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that are recognized to epigenetically modulate gene expression by weakly binding to the 3′UTR and/or other sites of target mRNAs. A number of miRNAs have been recognized to be aberrantly expressed in cancer. These findings have led researchers to aggressively pursue miRNAs for cancer diagnostic and therapeutics. However, both identification and targeting of miRNAs is not very straight forward because each miRNA can modulate scores of different genes which in-turn can influence exponential number of different targets. In recent years, there has been a consensus that the complexity of miRNAs requires holistic systems biology approaches to tease out the specific targets of each miRNA, which appears to be context dependent. In this chapter we present the recent advancements in systems and network biology and how these and related technologies are aiding in the design of effective miRNA-based therapeutics against cancer.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncology, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI, USA

    Ramzi M. Mohammad, Fazlul H. Sarkar & Philip A. Philip

  2. Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

    Ramzi M. Mohammad

  3. Department of Pathology, Wayne State University, 4100 John R, HWCRC 732, Detroit, MI, USA

    B. Bao, Fazlul H. Sarkar & Asfar S. Azmi

Authors
  1. Ramzi M. Mohammad
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  2. B. Bao
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  3. Fazlul H. Sarkar
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  4. Philip A. Philip
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  5. Asfar S. Azmi
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ramzi M. Mohammad or Asfar S. Azmi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pathology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA

    Fazlul H. Sarkar

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© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Mohammad, R.M., Bao, B., Sarkar, F.H., Philip, P.A., Azmi, A.S. (2014). Systems Biology Approaches in the Design of Effective miRNA-Targeted Therapeutics. In: Sarkar, F. (eds) MicroRNA Targeted Cancer Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05134-5_18

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