miR-200c Regulation of Metastases in Ovarian Cancer: Potential Role in Epithelial and Mesenchymal Transition

Abstract

Among the gynecological malignancies, ovarian cancer is the most fatal due to its high mortality rate. Most of the identified cases are epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) with five distinct subtypes: high-grade serous carcinoma, low-grade serous carcinoma, mucinous carcinoma, endometrioid carcinoma, and clear-cell carcinoma. Lack of an early diagnostic approach, high incidence of tumor relapse and the heterogenous characteristics between each EOC subtypes contribute to the difficulties in developing precise intervention and therapy for the patients. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded RNAs that have been shown to function as tumor suppressors or oncomiRs. The miR-200 family, especially miR-200c, has been shown to be implicated in the metastasis and invasion of ovarian carcinoma due to its functional regulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This mini review is aimed to summarize the recent findings of the miR-200c functional role as well as its validated targets in the metastasis cascade of ovarian cancer, with a focus on EMT regulation. The potential of this miRNA in early diagnosis and its dual expression status are also discussed.

MiR-592 Promotes Gastric Cancer Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion Through the PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK Signaling Pathways by Targeting Spry2

“…The EMT, the biological process by which epithelial cells are transformed into stromal EMT is characterized by a series of reversible molecular and phenotypic alterations and increased cell motility that promote the biological aggressiveness of malignant cells, such as invasion and metastasis [38,39]. Recent accumulating evidence has indicated that miRNAs [23].…”

Long Non-Coding RNAs: the New Horizon of Gene Regulation in Ovarian Cancer

“…The functional involvement of miRNAs in OC initiation, development, and spread has been widely demonstrated. Furthermore, their potential use as biomarkers and for therapy has also been explored [90][91][92][93]. Most miRNAs play crucial cellular roles, participating in almost all molecular signaling pathways known to regulate cancer cell initiation, progression, metastasis, and survival.…”

Molecular Nodal Staging Using miRNA Expression in Lung Cancer Patients by Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration

“…In order for these circulating tumor cells to adhere to endothelial cells in the new metastatic sites, they undergo mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition by recovering their epithelial properties. In contrast to the suppression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition by the miR-200 family, this metastatic colonization of tumor cells has been shown to be promoted by the miR-200 family [28]. Based on the results of this study, miR-200c is suggested to be highly expressed in tumor cells in the metastatic lymph nodes of our sample.…”