A comprehensive review of microRNA-related polymorphisms in gastric cancer.

Authors :: Han BW
Li ZH
Liu SF
Han HB
Dong SJ
Zou HJ
Sun RF
Jia J
Source :: Genetics and molecular research : GMR [Genet Mol Res] 2016 Jul 14; Vol. 15 (2). Date of Electronic Publication: 2016 Jul 14.
Publication Year :: 2016
Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNA molecules of about 22 nucleotides in length. miRNAs are highly conserved in both plants and animals, and function as gene regulators by binding to the 3'-untranslated region of target mRNAs for cleavage and/or translational repression. miRNA biogenesis, stability, and regulation of expression are strongly sequence dependent. Sequence variants, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in pri-miRNA, pre-miRNA, promoter regions, or miRNA-target sites, can influence miRNA function, thereby contributing to the pathological features of human disease. In this review, we focus on miRNA-related SNPs in gastric cancer and comprehensively analyze some commonly studied SNPs.