Journal of Clinical & Experimental Pharmacology

Abstract

Emerging Roles of microRNAs in Malignant Neuroblastoma

Swapan K Ray

Discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) as negative regulators of gene expression at post-transcriptional level has revealed a new layer of finest regulation of cell signaling mechanisms in normal development and abnormal growth. The pathogenesis in most of the tumors including malignant neuroblastoma, a childhood malignancy in most cases, is now known to be linked to aberrant expression of a wide range of miRNAs, which can be oncogenic or tumor suppressor molecules. Many miRNAs seem to be involved in avoiding differentiation and apoptotic death while driving the growth of human malignant neuroblastoma. So, modulation of expression of specific oncogenic and tumor suppressor miRNAs may provide us novel therapeutic opportunities to enhance induction of differentiation and apoptosis and also inhibition of autophagy, proliferation, multidrug resistance, migration, invasion, and metastasis in human malignant neuroblastoma.