MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules, approximately 22 nucleotides in length that regulate gene translation through silencing or degradation of target mRNAs. They are involved in multiple biological processes, including differentiation and proliferation, metabolism, hemostasis, apoptosis or inflammation, and in pathophysiology of many diseases. Numerous studies have suggested circulating miRNAs as promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of many diseases.
miR-361-5p is encoded by a gene located on chromosome X and has been implicated in several cancers. Decrease in miR-361-5p has been associated with increase in the malignancy grade in human cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, prostate cancer and colorectal and gastric cancer. In hepatocellular carcinoma, miR-361-5p was down-regulated in comparison to adjacent normal tissues, due to hypermethylation at its promoter region. Overexpression of miR-361-5p inhibited proliferation and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. It was demonstrated that miR-361-5p was significantly decreased in glioma tissues and that overexpression of miR-361-5p inhibited glioma cell migration, invasion and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. MiR-361-5p also suppresses lung cancer progression and decreases glycolytic metabolism, proliferation, and invasion of breast cancer cell. These results confirm a tumor-suppressive role of miR-361-5p in cancer cells. In contrast, miR-361-5p has been shown to act as an oncogene in cervical cancer.
Besides cancer, miR-361-5p was reported to be related to Late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) and acute myocardial infarction. In LOH patients, there was a positive association between the plasma level of miR-361-5p and serum testosterone concentration. A recent study demonstrated that plasma levels of miR-361-5p together with miR-21-5p were markedly increased in patients with acute myocardial infarction compared to healthy controls, whereas the concentration of circulating miR-519e-5p was reduced. Furthermore, cell experiments demonstrated that these plasma miRNAs may originate from injured cardiomyocytes induced by hypoxia. In addition, the levels of all the three circulating miRNAs in ischemic stroke (IS) and pulmonary embolism (PE) were elevated.
- References to miR-361-5p