MICRORNAS: A REVIEW CURRENT STUDIES OF THEIR EXPRESSION IN CANINE CANCERS

摘要

The sequencing of the canine genome has presented new and unique opportunities to better understand the molecular basis of disease, which ultimately is necessary for making significant advances in disease diagnosis and treatment. Although the initialgoal of sequencing the genomes of the dog and other species was to sequence the "entire" genome, it is that portion of the genome that is ultimately expressed as a protein (approximately <1.5% of the mammalian genome) that has been the primary focus of subsequent investigation, i.e. the post-genomic era. Recently, a major advance occurred in our understanding of the "other 99%" of the genome that does not code for a protein. This was the identification and recognition of microRNAs (miRNAs), short 19-25nucleotide non-protein coding RNAs. It is now clear that miRNAs play an important role in gene regulation and perhaps maintenance of the genome's integrity. Importantly, dysregulation of miRNA expression has been implicated in a wide variety of diseases,including cancer. Dysregulated miRNAs are also potential targets for therapy and biomarkers of disease. MiRNA-based therapies already have been proposed. In this session, we will review miRNA structure and function, their roles in cancer, methods of measuring their expression, miRNA expression profiling, and their potential uses as therapeutics and biomarkers.