ContentslistsavailableatScienceDirectSeminarsinCancerBiologyjournalhomepage:www.elsevier.com/locate/semcancerReviewCurrentunderstandingandclinicalutilityofmiRNAsregulationofcoloncancerstemcellsMariangelaDeRobertisa,b,c,⁎,MariaLuanaPoetaa,EmanuelaSignorib,c,⁎,VitoMicheleFaziob,daDepartmentofBiosciences,BiotechnologyandBiopharmaceutics,UniversityofBari“A.Moro”,ViaOrabona4,70126Bari,ItalybLaboratoryofMolecularMedicineandBiotechnology,UniversityCampusBio-MedicoofRome,ViaAlvarodelPortillo21,00128Rome,ItalycLaboratoryofMolecularPathologyandExperimentalOncology,InstituteofTranslationalPharmacology,ConsiglioNazionaledelleRicerche(CNR),ViaFossodelCavaliere100,00133Rome,ItalydIRCCS“CasaSollievodellaSofferenza”,vialedeiCappuccini,71013SanGiovanniRotondo(FG),ItalyARTICLEINFOKeywords:microRNACancerstemcellsColorectalcancerSignalingpathwaysBiomarkersABSTRACTCancerstemcells(CSCs)incolorectaltumorigenesisaresuggestedtoberesponsibleforinitiation,developmentandpropagationofcolorectalcancer(CRC)andhavebeenextensivelycharacterizedbytheexpressionofphenotypicdeterminants,suchassurfaceorintracellularproteins.ThegenerationofCSCsislikelyduetoadysregulationofthesignalingpathwaysthatprincipallycontrolself-renewalandpluripotencyinnormalintestinalstemcells(ISCs)throughdifferent(epi)geneticchangesthatdefinecellfate,identity,andphenotypeofCSCs.Theseaspectsarecurrentlyunderintenseinvestigation.IntheframeworkoftheoncogenicsignalingpathwayscontrolledbymicroRNAs(miRNAs)duringCRCdevelopment,aplethoraofdatasuggeststhatmiRNAscanplayakeyroleinseveralregulatorypathwaysinvolvingCSCsbiology,epithelial-mesenchymaltransition(EMT),angiogenesis,metastatization,andpharmacoresistance.ThisreviewexaminesthemostrelevantevidencesabouttheroleofmiRNAsintheetiologyofCRC,throughtheregulationofcolonCSCsandtheprincipaldifferencesbetweencolorectalCSCsandbenignstemcells.Inthisperspective,theutilityoftheprincipalCSCs-relatedmiRNAschangesisexplored,emphasizingtheiruseaspotentialbiomarkerstoaidindiagnosis,prognosisandp...
