MiR-101: An Important Regulator of Gene Expression and Tumor Ecosystem

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Abnormal expression of miRNA is often observed in cancer. MiR-101 is closely associated with tumor initiation and progression. In this review, we summarized new findings regarding the role of miR-101 in cancer and the potential mechanisms of targeted gene degradation and microenvironmental regulation. ABSTRACT: MiRNAs are small single-stranded non-coding RNAs. MiRNA contributes to the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA in different cell types, including mRNA transcription inhibition and mRNA decay and phenotypes via the effect of several essential oncogenic processes and tumor microenvironment. MiR-101 is a highly conserved miRNA that was found to alter the expression in various human cancers. MiR-101 has been reported to have tumor oncogenic and suppressive effects to regulate tumorigenesis and tumor progression. In this review, we summarize the new findings about the roles of miR-101 in cancers and the underlying mechanisms of targeting genes degradation and microenvironment regulation, which will improve biological understanding and design of novel therapeutics.