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Role of miR-155 in drug resistance of breast cancer

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Tumor Biology

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expressions at posttranscriptional level. Growing evidence points to their significant role in the acquisition of drug resistance in cancers. Studies show that miRNAs are often aberrantly expressed in human cancer cells which are associated with tumorigenesis, metastasis, invasiveness, and drug resistance. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-induced death in women. Over the last decades, increasing attention has been paid to the effects of miRNAs on the development of breast cancer drug resistance. Among them, miR-155 takes part in a sequence of bioprocesses that contribute to the development of such drug resistance, including repression of FOXO3a, enhancement of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, reduction of RhoA, and affecting the length of telomeres. In this review, we discuss the role of miR-155 in the acquisition of breast cancer drug resistance. This will provide a new way in antiresistance treatment of drug-resistant breast cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This work has no fund. We thank Shan-Liang Zhong, M.D., and Wei-Xian Chen, PhD, for their discussion and help in revision.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The First Clinical School of Nanjing Medical University, Baiziting 42, Nanjing, China, 210009

    Dan-dan Yu, Meng-meng Lv & Wei-xian Chen

  2. Department of General Surgery, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital Cancer Institute of Jiangsu Province, Baiziting 42, Nanjing, China, 210009

    Dan-dan Yu, Meng-meng Lv, Wei-xian Chen, Lin Chen & Jin-hai Tang

  3. Center of Clinical Laboratory, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital Cancer Institute of Jiangsu Province, Baiziting 42, Nanjing, China, 210009

    Shan-liang Zhong, Xiao-hui Zhang, Teng-fei Ma & Jian-hua Zhao

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  1. Dan-dan Yu
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Correspondence to Jin-hai Tang or Jian-hua Zhao.

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Yu, Dd., Lv, Mm., Chen, Wx. et al. Role of miR-155 in drug resistance of breast cancer. Tumor Biol. 36, 1395–1401 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-015-3263-z

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