Open AccessCell‐free microRNAs in blood and other body fluids, as cancer biomarkers
Author(s) -
OrtizQuintero Blanca
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
cell proliferation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.647
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1365-2184
pISSN - 0960-7722
DOI - 10.1111/cpr.12262
Subject(s) - microrna , biological fluids , cell , carcinogenesis , cancer , biology , cancer biomarkers , body fluid , computational biology , cancer cell , biomarker , cancer research , bioinformatics , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , biochemistry , medicine , pathology , gene , genetics , chromatography
The discovery of cell‐free micro RNA s (mi RNA s) in serum, plasma and other body fluids has yielded an invaluable potential source of non‐invasive biomarkers for cancer and other non‐malignant diseases. mi RNA s in the blood and other body fluids are highly stable in biological samples and are resistant to environmental conditions, such as freezing, thawing or enzymatic degradation, which makes them convenient as potential biomarkers. In addition, they are more easily sampled than tissue mi RNA s. Altered levels of cell‐free mi RNA s have been found in every type of cancer analysed, and increasing evidence indicates that they may participate in carcinogenesis by acting as cell‐to‐cell signalling molecules. This review summarizes the biological characteristics and mechanisms of release of cell‐free mi RNA s that make them promising candidates as non‐invasive biomarkers of cancer.