Mature miRNAs which consist of 20–23-nucleotide single-stranded RNAs are closely related to biological processes of cancer, such as its occurrence, differentiation, metastasis and recurrence. miRNAs, as key regulators, can inhibit mRNA expression by recognizing speciifc mRNA targets, and further mediate post-transcriptional inhibition of cancer related genes. With the further understanding of fundamental biology and bioinformatics, miRNAs will serve as a novel cancer therapeutic target with a broad application prospect.%成熟miRNAs是一类长度为20~23个核苷酸的非编码单链小RNAs.近年来,陆续发现miRNAs与肿瘤的发生、分化、转移及复发等密切相关.miRNAs作为一种调节因子,通过与靶mRNA的完全或不完全互补结合抑制靶mRNA表达,进而在转录后水平调节肿瘤相关基因的表达.随着对miRNAs的基础生物学和生物信息学的进一步研究,可以预见未来miRNAs作为肿瘤基因治疗的新靶点有着广泛的应用前景.
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