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Carcinogenesis Advance Access published online on May 13, 2008
Carcinogenesis, doi:10.1093/carcin/bgn116
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Polymorphisms in MicroRNA Targets: A Gold Mine for Molecular Epidemiology

Kexin Chen1,*, Fengju Song1,*, George Calin2, Qingyi Wei3, Xishan Hao1 and Wei Zhang4

1 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Tianjin, P.R. China
2 Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, Texas 77030
3 Department of Epidemiology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, Texas 77030
4 Department of Pathology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, Texas 77030

Corresponding author: Kexin Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Tianjin,P.R. China 300060 (e-mail: chenkexin1963{at}yahoo.com)

Wei Zhang, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pathology, Unit 85, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd. Houston, Texas 77030. (e-mail: wzhang{at}mdanderson.org)

MicroRNAs are noncoding small RNAs that regulate gene expression by Watson-Crick base-pairing to target mRNA. They are involved in most biological and pathological processes, including tumorigenesis. The binding of microRNA to mRNA is critical for regulating the mRNA level and protein expression. However, this binding can be affected by single-nucleotide polymorphisms that can reside in the microRNA target site, which can either abolish existing binding sites or create illegitimate binding sites. Therefore, polymorphisms in microRNA can have a differing effect on gene and protein expression and represent another type of genetic variability that can influence the risk of certain human diseases. Different approaches have been used to predict and identify functional polymorphisms within microRNA binding sites. The biological relevance of these polymorphisms in predicted microRNA binding sites is beginning to be examined in large case-control studies.

* Both are first authors

Received March 24, 2008; revised April 27, 2008; accepted May 3, 2008.


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