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Review

miRNA biogenesis: Biological impact in the development of cancer

, , &
Pages 1444-1455 | Received 02 Jun 2014, Accepted 28 Jul 2014, Published online: 16 Dec 2014
 

Abstract

microRNAs (miRNAs) are non coding RNAs with different biological functions and pathological implications. Given their role as post-transcriptional gene expression regulators, they are involved in several important physiological processes like development, cell differentiation and cell signaling. miRNAs act as modulators of gene expression programs in different diseases, particularly in cancer, where they act through the repression of genes which are critical for carcinogenesis. The expression level of mature miRNAs is the result of a fine mechanism of biogenesis, carried out by different enzymatic complexes that exert their function at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. In this review, we will focus our discussion on the alterations in the miRNA biogenesis machinery, and its impact on the establishment and development of cancer programs.

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interests

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.