Role of microRNAs in glioblastoma

Ming Chen; Zdravka Medarova; Anna Moore

doi:10.18632/oncotarget.28039

Role of microRNAs in glioblastoma

Oncotarget. 2021 Aug 17;12(17):1707-1723. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.28039.

Authors

Ming Chen^{1

2}, Zdravka Medarova³, Anna Moore^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Precision Health Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
² Department of Radiology, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
³ Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.

Abstract

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary human brain cancer. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a set of small endogenous non-coding RNA molecules which play critical roles in different biological processes including cancer. The realization of miRNA regulatory functions in GBM has demonstrated that these molecules play a critical role in its initiation, progression and response to therapy. In this review we discuss the studies related to miRNA discovery and function in glioblastoma. We first summarize the typical miRNAs and their roles in GBM. Then we debate the potential for miRNA-based therapy for glioblastoma, including various delivery strategies. We surmise that future directions identified by these studies will point towards the necessity for therapeutic development and optimization to improve the outcomes for patients with glioblastoma.

Keywords: glioblastoma; miRNA delivery; miRNA-based therapies; microRNA.