Functional mechanism and clinical implications of miR-141 in human cancers

Cancer is caused by the abnormal proliferation of local tissue cells under the control of many oncogenic factors. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of evolutionarily conserved, approximately 22-nucleotide noncoding small RNAs that influence transcriptional regulationby binding to the 3′-untranslated region of target messenger RNA. As a member of the miRNA family, miR-141 acts as a suppressor or an oncomiR in various cancers and regulates cancer cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and metastasis through a variety of signaling pathways, such as phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) and constitutive activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). Target gene validation and pathway analysis have provided mechanistic insight into the role of this miRNA in different tissues. This review also outlines novel findings that suggest miR-141 may be useful as a noninvasive biomarker and as a therapeutic target in several cancers. •Regulatory mechanisms of miR-141 in cancer•Regulatory roles of miR-141 in various cancers•miR-141 as a tumor drug therapy•miR-141 as a drug resistance•miR-141 as a diagnostic marker of cancers