MicroRNAs in neuroblastoma differentiation and differentiation therapy

Neuroblastoma is one of the most common and aggressive types of pediatric cancers, making up about 7% of all childhood cancers. Neuroblastoma arises from the failure of neural crest cell precursors to differentiate, and inducing cell differentiation is one of the most important treatment approaches for neuroblastoma. MicroRNAs regulate gene expression by performing post-transcriptional gene modification by mainly translational suppression and mRNA degradation. The dysregulation of these molecules has been shown to be related to tumor development, tumor metastasis and drug resistance, and the promise of developing microRNA-based therapeutics for cancers has been demonstrated. Many recent studies have also provided evidence for the involvement of microRNAs in differentiation of neuroblastoma cells, suggesting the potential of developing microRNA-based differentiation therapies for neuroblastoma. Here we review the recent findings on the role of microRNAs in regulating cell differentiation, with a main focus on neuroblastoma cells. The investigations on the therapeutic potential of microRNAs in neuroblastoma therapy and differentiation therapy are also reviewed.