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上皮间质转化(epithelial-mesenchymal transition,EMT)是指上皮细胞表型由上皮向间质转换的生物学过程,可发生在生理过程中促进发育、组织愈合和修复。近年对肿瘤的研究发现,EMT与肿瘤的发生发展密切相关。肿瘤细胞发生EMT时,伴随着迁移、侵袭能力的增强,进而促进肿瘤的转移。EMT发生的程度以及相关标志分子的检测还可以用于判断肿瘤转移的危险和评估预后。MicroRNA(miRNA)作为非编码小RNA,通过与特定mRNA的3’UTR结合,在蛋白翻译水平抑制基因表达。本文主要综述目前发现的作用于EMT相关转录因子,如ZEB、SNAIL、TWIST的miRNA,以及在各种肿瘤中的表达情况和作用。其中,有些转录因子和miRNA之间,还存在相互抑制的复杂调节网络,因此,了解miRNA在肿瘤中对EMT的作用可能为肿瘤的治疗提供新的方法和策略。
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) refers to the biological process of epidermal transition from the epithelium to the mesenchyme. It can occur in the physiological process to promote development, tissue healing and repair. In recent years, the study of tumors found that EMT is closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors. EMT occurs in tumor cells, accompanied by migration, invasion increased, and then promote tumor metastasis. The extent of EMT and the detection of related marker molecules can also be used to determine the risk of tumor metastasis and prognosis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), as non-coding small RNAs, inhibit gene expression at the protein translation level by binding to the 3’UTR of specific mRNAs. This article mainly reviews the currently discovered miRNAs that act on EMT-related transcription factors such as ZEB, SNAIL and TWIST as well as the expression and role of miRNAs in various tumors. Among them, some transcription factors and miRNAs also have a complex regulatory network that inhibits each other. Therefore, understanding the role of miRNAs in EMTs may provide new methods and strategies for tumor therapy.