MicroRNAs: Small Molecules with Big Impact in Cancer

摘要

MicroRNAs form one of the major regulatory gene families by targeting mRNAs for cleavage or translalional repression within viruses, plants and animals. MiRNA expression patterns were found to classify cancer types with a greater reliability than the respective profiles of protein-coding genes [1]. This outstanding potential as diagnostic biomarkers is furthermore supported by the extraordinary stability of mRNAs in routinely collected formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples [21.