MicroRNA-17-5p: At the Crossroads of Cancer and Aging - A Mini-Review

Abstract

The miR-17-92 cluster, led by its most prominent member, miR-17-5p, has been identified as the first miRNA with oncogenic potential. Thus, the whole cluster containing miR-17-5p has been termed oncomiR-1. It is strongly expressed in embryonic stem cells and has essential roles in vital processes like cell cycle regulation, proliferation and apoptosis. The importance of miR-17-5p for fundamental biological processes is underscored by the fact that a miR17-deficient mouse is neonatally lethal. Recently, miR-17-5p was identified in the context of aging, since it is comprised in a common signature of miRNAs that is downregulated in several models of aging research. Recently, miR-17-5p turned out to be the first ‘longevimiR' in an animal model, extending the lifespan of a transgenic miR-17-5p-overexpressing mouse. Here, we summarize the current status of research on miR-17-5p with emphasis on its role in cellular senescence, aging and cancer, which points to a pleiotropic function of miR-17-5p regulating multiple targets involved in autophagy, cell cycle regulation and apoptosis in a tissue-dependent fashion. In addition, its elevated presence in serum or plasma of a wide range of tumor patients suggests using it as an ‘alarmiR', a general indicator of a potential tumor pathology. However, amounts of circulating miR-17-5p of healthy individuals as reference values are still missing, before any miRNA can be classified as such an ‘alarmiR'. In conclusion, miR-17-5p is at the crossroads of aging, longevity and cancer and might represent a promising biomarker or even therapeutic tool and target in this context.

Integrative Analysis of MicroRNA and Gene Interactions for Revealing Candidate Signatures in Prostate Cancer

“…Among the four hub miRNAs found in this study, miRNA-17-5p has been extensively investigated (Hussein et al, 2009;Dellago et al, 2017). MiRNA-17-5p is shown by multiple studies to be at the crossroads of aging and cancer and might be a promising biomarker or even therapeutic tool and target in tumors (Dellago et al, 2017). The high expression of miRNA-17-5p is significantly associated with the progression of various cancers probably through increasing the expression of p53 (Thompson et al, 2016;Duan et al, 2018).…”

“…However, more research regarding its roles in prostate cancer is still needed. Among the four hub miRNAs found in this study, miRNA-17-5p has been extensively investigated (Hussein et al, 2009;Dellago et al, 2017). MiRNA-17-5p is shown by multiple studies to be at the crossroads of aging and cancer and might be a promising biomarker or even therapeutic tool and target in tumors (Dellago et al, 2017).…”

The Biology of Aging and Cancer: A Brief Overview of Shared and Divergent Molecular Hallmarks

“…The deletion of these is neonataly lethal in mice and they are regulators of development and aging. The expression is downregulated with age and overexpression is associated with life extension in mice [ 65 ]. The cluster is also protective against a variety of age related pathologies such as heart disease, neurodegenerative disease and osteoporosis [ 65 ].…”

Identification of Autophagy-Related Genes and Their Regulatory miRNAs Associated with Celiac Disease in Children

“…The importance of miR-17 for fundamental biological processes is underscored by the fact that miR17-deficient mice are neonatally lethal. Recently, miR-17 was identified in the context of aging, turning out to be the first “longevimiR”, extending the lifespan of transgenic miR-17-overexpressing mice [28]. Several studies reported the specific role of miR-17 in modulating the autophagy process in different contexts [29,30,31,32].…”