The role of microRNAs in breast cancer - Essay Example

Below is a description of the effect of miRNAs in breast cancer metastasis, treatment and cause. Regulation on Cancer Causing Proteins According to Yamashita and others, mis-expressions or mutations in miRNA have been associated with different types of human cancers. The loss-or-gain-of function of some miRNAs has also been found to contribute to tumorigenesis and epithelial cellular transformation of the breast. Research has also revealed that profiling of miRNA expression shows that different molecular subtypes in breast cancer have different expressions of miRNAs (Yamashita et al, n.d., p. 331). ER?

is responsible for breast cancer. There are two types of ER? related breast cancers. There are ER?-negative and ER?-positive breast cancers. Most primary breast cancers express ER? with an approximate value of 70%. ER?-positive breast cancers have been found to respond positively to endocrine therapy. This could be because of the role of ER? in the endocrine system. ER? is necessary for estrogen-dependent growth. It affects the response to endocrine therapy among women with ER?-positive breast cancers depending on its level of expression. . 331).

The Roles of miRNAs in Cellular Processing There are various cellular processes in which miRNAs are involved. These include development of skeletal and heart muscles, and establishment and maintenance of cell lineage. The miRNAs have the ability to express specific tissue, which has been, observed in insulin secretion, proliferation, hematopoiesis, adepocyte development, apoptosis, and brain pattering. Because of these roles and involvement in diverse cellular functions, miRNAs’ function and expression dysregulation has the potential to cause diseases.

This has been observed in Tourette’s syndrome, fragile X syndrome, and from recent research studies, associated with cancer development and progression (Kayani, Kayani, Malik & Faryal, 2011, p. 3175). Bachour and Bennett (2011) also note that miRNAs are involved in regulation of apoptosis, proliferation and differentiation, and have the ability to directly obstruct stability and translation of specific gene transcripts that they target and cause cell physiology disorder. In breast cancer, for example, miRNAs have been found to be involved in the dysregulation of tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes, causing progression of breast cancer (Bachour & Bennett, 2011; Liu et al, 2011).

MiRNAs are also found in regulation of cell development and cell cycle. This characteristic places them in the best place for exploring anticancer treatments. Altered miRNA signatures cause breast cancer metastasis and development. This has been identified through the study of the effect of the loss of tumour suppressor miRNAs such as miR-31, miR-203, miR-30a, miR-34a, miR-200s, miR-205, miR-342, miR-125s, miR-206, and let-7s, or the over-expression of oncogenic miRNA such as miR-21, miR-155, miR-222, miR-10b,