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Review
. 2021 Feb 20;13(4):891.
doi: 10.3390/cancers13040891.

MicroRNAs: Their Role in Metastasis, Angiogenesis, and the Potential for Biomarker Utility in Bladder Carcinomas

Raneem Y Hammouz  1 , Damian Kołat  1 , Żaneta Kałuzińska  1 , Elżbieta Płuciennik  1 , Andrzej K Bednarek  1
Affiliations
Review

MicroRNAs: Their Role in Metastasis, Angiogenesis, and the Potential for Biomarker Utility in Bladder Carcinomas

Raneem Y Hammouz et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

Angiogenesis is the process of generating new capillaries from pre-existing blood vessels with a vital role in tumor growth and metastasis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding RNAs that exert post-transcriptional control of protein regulation. They participate in the development and progression of several cancers including bladder cancer (BLCA). In cancer tissue, changes in microRNA expression exhibit tissue specificity with high levels of stability and detectability. miRNAs are less vulnerable to degradation, making them novel targets for therapeutic approaches. A suitable means of targeting aberrant activated signal transduction pathways in carcinogenesis of BLCA is possibly through altering the expression of key miRNAs that regulate them, exerting a strong effect on signal transduction. Precaution must be taken, as the complexity of miRNA regulation might result in targeting several downstream tumor suppressors or oncogenes, enhancing the effect further. Since exosomes contain both mRNA and miRNA, they could therefore possibly be more effective in targeting a recipient cell if they deliver a specific miRNA to modify the recipient cell protein production and gene expression. In this review, we discuss the molecules that have been shown to play a significant role in BLCA tumor development. We also discuss the roles of various miRNAs in BLCA angiogenesis and metastasis. Advances in the management of metastatic BLCA have been limited; miRNA mimics and molecules targeted at miRNAs (anti-miRs) as well as exosomes could serve as therapeutic modalities or as diagnostic biomarkers.

Keywords: EMT; adhesion molecules; angiogenesis; bladder cancer; exosomes; metastasis; microRNA; urothelial bladder carcinoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Development of the metastatic cascade in BLCAs along with the miRNAs involved in inhibiting or promoting the process covered in this paper and a brief description of the biogenesis, packaging, and secretion of exosomal miRNAs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Metastatic inhibition and induction by miRNA in BLCA.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Inhibition of angiogenesis by miRNA in BLCA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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