[Screening and identification of microRNAs related to acquired gefitinib-resistance in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines]

[Advances in the relationship between microRNA and cisplatin resistance of lung cancer]

微小RNA（microRNA, miRNA）是一类长约22 nt的非编码小分子RNA，在转录后水平上负性调节靶基因的活性。微小RNA在肿瘤的发生、发展中发挥着广泛的作用，包括肿瘤的进展、分化、转移和耐药等。化疗药物的耐药是临床肿瘤治疗的难题，如何克服肿瘤细胞的顺铂耐药性引起人们的广泛兴趣。越来越多的研究证明微小RNA在影响肿瘤耐药中发挥着重要的作用。本文将对微小RNA与肿瘤治疗尤其是顺铂治疗的研究进展作一综述。

Role of microRNA-138 as a potential tumor suppressor in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is an aggressive life-threatening disease associated with high mortality rates. While efforts have been made to explore the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the initiation and progression of HNSCC, most studies focus on protein-coding genes. Understanding of the genomic aberrations associated with noncoding genes (such as microRNAs) and their effects on HNSCC is still relatively limited. Recent evidence suggests that deregulation of microRNA genes (such as downregulation of miR-138) plays an important role in HNSCC. While deregulation of miR-138 has been frequently observed in HNSCC and other cancer types, the precise roles of miR-138 in tumorigenesis remain elusive. Recent bioinformatics analyses and functional studies using in vitro and in vivo systems have identified a number of functional targets for miR-138. These include genes that participate in essential biological processes that are highly relevant to the initiation and progression of HNSCC, including cell migration, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, cell cycle progression, DNA damage response and repair, senescence, and differentiation. However, the biological systems, study design, and data interpretation from these studies are highly variable, which hinder our understanding of the role of miR-138 in tumorigenesis at molecular level. In this review, we will first introduce the significance of microRNA deregulation in HNSCC. We will then provide a comprehensive review and integrative analysis of the existing studies on miR-138, and aim to define its molecular mechanisms that contribute to the initiation and progression of HNSCC.