Relevance of miR-21 in regulation of tumor suppressor gene PTEN in human cervical cancer cells.

Background: Expression of the microRNA miR-21 has been found to be altered in almost all types of cancers and it has been classified as an oncogenic microRNA or oncomir. Due to the critical functions of its target proteins in various signaling pathways, miR-21 is an attractive target for genetic and pharmacological modulation in various cancers. Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer in women worldwide and persistent HPV infection is the main etiologic agent.

Utility of microRNAs and siRNAs in cervical carcinogenesis.

MicroRNAs and siRNAs belong to a family of small noncoding RNAs which bind through partial sequence complementarity to 3'-UTR regions of mRNA from target genes, resulting in the regulation of gene expression. MicroRNAs have become an attractive target for genetic and pharmacological modulation due to the critical function of their target proteins in several signaling pathways, and their expression profiles have been found to be altered in various cancers. A promising technology platform for selective silencing of cell and/or viral gene expression using siRNAs is currently in development.