Analysis of Chromosome 17 miRNAs and Their Importance in Medulloblastomas

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small sequences of nucleotides that regulate posttranscriptionally gene expression. In recent years they have been recognized as very important general regulators of proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, cell death, and others. In some cases, the characteristic presence of miRNAs reflects some of the cellular pathways that may be altered. Particularly medulloblastomas (MB) represent entities that undergo almost characteristic alterations of chromosome 17: from loss of discrete fragments and isochromosomes formation to complete loss of one of them. An analysis of the major loci on this chromosome revealed that it contains at least 19 genes encoding miRNAs which may regulate the development and differentiation of the brain and cerebellum. miRNAs are regulators of real complex networks; they can regulate from 100 to over 300 messengers of various proteins. In this review some miRNAs are considered to be important in MB studies. Some of them are miRNA-5047, miRNA-1253, miRNA-2909, and miRNA-634. Everyone can significantly affect the development, growth, and cell invasion of MB, and they have not been explored in this tumor. In this review, we propose some miRNAs that can affect some genes in MB, and hence the importance of its study.