Role of miRNA in Glioma Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Therapeutic Outcomes

Abstract

Glioma is the most aggressive tumor of glial cells in the brain and spinal cord. It comprises 30% of all brain tumors. Even in the presence of current multimodal therapeutic regimens, the life expectancy of more than 2 years is very rare. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNAs produced naturally in the body and control gene expression. Many evidence-based hypotheses show that miRNA expression is aberrantly influenced in glioma due to amplification or deletion of miRNA genes, inappropriate transcriptional regulation of miRNAs, dysregulated epigenetic alterations, or faults in the miRNA biogenesis machinery. In some circumstances, miRNAs promote tumorigenesis, whereas under other circumstances, they can act as tumor suppressors in glioma. In gliomas, miRNA is involved in cell proliferation signaling, evasion of growth suppressors, resistance to cell death, tumor cell infiltration, metastasis, and angiogenesis. More and more research is pointing to miRNAs as prospective biomarkers for glioma diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment targets or tools; however, these claims have yet to be validated. Here, we discuss the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) as tumor suppressors and oncogenes in the growth of glioma.