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MicroRNA in Cancer pp 1–12Cite as

MicroRNAs and Other Non-Coding RNAs: Implications for Cancer Patients

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Abstract

The discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) has shed new light on the role of RNA in gene regulation. MiRNAs are small molecules (size, 19–22 nucleotides) that do not encode proteins but interfere with translation and transcription, thereby regulating gene expression. Multiple miRNAs are dysregulated in human cancer, supporting the hypothesis that miRNAs are involved in the initiation and progression of cancer. Prototypic malignancies in which a role for miRNAs has been demonstrated include chronic lymphocytic leukemia, multiple myeloma, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma. More research is necessary, but miRNAs have already improved our understanding of the pathogenesis of cancer. MiRNAs measured in bodily fluids, especially plasma, may be useful as biomarkers for cancer. Beyond miRNAs, several thousand other non-coding (also called ultraconserved) RNAs may be important in the pathogenesis and prognosis of cancer. Some ultraconserved non-coding RNAs interfere with signal transduction by modifying chromatin structures, but most are not yet well characterized. MiRNAs and other non-coding RNAs may be useful for the gene therapy of cancer.

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Acknowledgments

G.A.C. is supported as a Fellow at The University of Texas MD Anderson Research Trust, as a Fellow of The University of Texas System Regents Research Scholar program and by the CLL Global Research Foundation. Work in Dr Calin’s laboratory is supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (including MD Anderson’s Cancer Center Support Grant, CA016672), by a Department of Defense Breast Cancer Idea Award, by Developmental Research Awards in Breast Cancer, Ovarian Cancer and Leukemia Specialized Programs of Research Excellence, by a CTT/3I-TD grant and by a 2009 Seena Magowitz—Pancreatic Cancer Action Network—AACR Pilot Grant. R.M. is supported by Louisiana State University, Shreveport (sabbatical leave). Sunita C. Patterson helped with editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 77030, Houston, TX, USA

    Reinhold Munker & George A. Calin

  2. Louisiana State University, 71115, Shreveport, LA, USA

    Reinhold Munker

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  1. Reinhold Munker
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  2. George A. Calin
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Correspondence to George A. Calin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. and Molecular Biology, Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, Department of Biochemistry, Perdido Street 1901, New Orleans, 70112, Louisiana, USA

    Suresh Alahari

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Munker, R., Calin, G. (2013). MicroRNAs and Other Non-Coding RNAs: Implications for Cancer Patients. In: Alahari, S. (eds) MicroRNA in Cancer. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4655-8_1

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