Title:miR-26a is a Key Therapeutic Target with Enormous Potential in the
Diagnosis and Prognosis of Human Disease
Volume: 31
Issue: 18
Author(s): Wei Guan, Yan Chen and Yan Fan*
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmacy, Zhangjiagang Second People's Hospital,
Zhangjiagang, 215600, Jiangsu, China
Keywords:
miR-26a, biomarkers, human diseases, expression levels, target gene, cardiac fibrosis.
Abstract: MicroRNA-26a (miR-26a) belongs to small non-coding regulatory RNA
molecules emerging as fundamental post-transcriptional regulators inhibiting gene expression
that plays vital roles in various processes of human diseases such as depression,
renal ischemia and reperfusion injury, liver injury and some refractory cancer. In this review,
we expound on the results of studies about miR-26a with emphasis on its function
in animal models or in vitro cell culture to simulate the most common human disease in
the clinic. Furthermore, we also illustrate the underlying mechanisms of miR-26a in
strengthening the antitumor activity of antineoplastic drugs. Importantly, dysregulation
of miR-26a has been related to many chronic and malignant diseases, especially in neurological
disorders in the brain such as depression and neurodegenerative diseases as
well as cancers such as papillary thyroid carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and so on.
It follows that miR-26a has a strong possibility to be a potential therapeutic target for
the treatment of neurological disorders and cancers. Although the research of miRNAs
has made great progress in the last few decades, much is yet to be discovered, especially
regarding their underlying mechanisms and roles in the complex diseases of humans.
Consequently, miR-26a has been analyzed in chronic and malignant diseases, and we
discuss the dysregulation of miR-26a and functional roles in the development and pathogenesis
of these diseases, which is very helpful for understanding their mechanisms as
new biomarkers for diagnosing and curing diseases in the near future.