MicroRNA-214 Involvement in Cancer Progression and Therapeutics

MicroRNA-214 is a small non-coding RNA that has emerged as a pivotal regulator of oncogenic and tumour-suppressive pathways across a spectrum of malignancies. Through sequence-specific binding to mRNA targets, miR-214 modulates gene networks governing cell proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, migration and invasion. Its expression is often dysregulated in tumour tissues and the surrounding stroma, where it can act either to restrain tumour growth by targeting kinases or transcription factors involved in cell cycle progression, or, conversely, to promote metastasis by suppressing proteins that maintain epithelial integrity. In the tumour microenvironment, alterations of miR-214 levels in cancer-associated fibroblasts influence the epithelial–mesenchymal transition and extracellular matrix remodelling, facilitating malignant cell dissemination. Clinically, aberrant miR-214 expression correlates with disease stage, therapeutic resistance and patient prognosis in hepatocellular, gastric and breast cancers, among others. This dualistic role has inspired the development of miR-214-based therapeutic strategies, including miRNA mimics, antisense inhibitors and small molecules that disrupt critical miR-214–mRNA interactions. Advances in delivery platforms such as nanocarriers and exosome-based systems have begun to demonstrate preclinical efficacy, pointing towards a translational path for miR-214 modulation as a precision medicine approach in oncology.

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MicroRNA-214 Involvement in Cancer Progression and Therapeutics publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in microrna-214 involvement in cancer progression and therapeutics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

microRNA (miRNA): Small non-coding RNA molecule that regulates gene expression by binding to complementary sequences in target mRNAs, leading to translational repression or degradation.

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT): Biological process in which epithelial cells acquire mesenchymal properties, enhancing motility and invasiveness.

Cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF): Stromal cell within the tumour microenvironment that interacts with cancer cells to modulate growth, invasion and extracellular matrix remodelling.

3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR): Non-coding segment at the end of an mRNA that contains binding sites for regulatory molecules, including miRNAs, influencing mRNA stability and translation.

References

1. Effect of Borrelia burgdorferi on the Expression of miRNAs in Breast Cancer and Normal Mammary Epithelial Cells. Microorganisms (2023).
2. Downregulation of miRNA-214 in cancer-associated fibroblasts contributes to migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells through targeting FGF9 and inducing EMT. Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research (2019).
3. MicroRNA-214-3p inhibits proliferation and cell cycle progression by targeting MELK in hepatocellular carcinoma and correlates cancer prognosis. Cancer Cell International (2017).