OncomiR or Tumor Suppressor? The Duplicity of MicroRNAs in Cancer

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are short, noncoding RNAs whose dysregulation has been implicated in most, if not all, cancers. They regulate gene expression by suppressing mRNA translation and reducing mRNA stability. To this end, there is a great deal of interest in modifying miRNA expression levels for the treatment of cancer. However, the literature is fraught with inconsistent accounts as to whether various miRNAs are oncogenic or tumor suppressive. In this review, we directly examine these inconsistencies and propose several mechanisms to explain them. These mechanisms include the possibility that specific miRNAs can simultaneously produce competing oncogenic and tumor suppressive effects by suppressing both tumor…

• YU
  Yale University

  Award: T32-GM007205
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: R01-CA157749, R01-CA131301, and R01-GM073857, F30-CA196020