miRNA biogenesis, function and their therapeutic implications

Research in microRNA has witnessed a significant breakthrough as it is significantly involved in numerous biological processes. MicroRNAs are short (similar to 22 nucleotides) non-coding RNAs, are cell/tissue-specifically expressed and are temporarily regulated. They regulate post-transcription output of proteins by targeting mRNAs for translational repression or degradation. This review is written with searches related to current trends and application of miRNAs from databases of Pubmed and Google. microRNAs are known to participate in developmental and physiological processes and their dysregulation contributes to various disease progression. The benefit of using microRNA approaches depends on its ability to simultaneously target multiple effectors of cell differentiation, proliferation and survival pathways. Dysfunctional miRNAs have been implicated in the development of various disorders. These small RNA molecules serve as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression and are considered as reliable clinical biomarkers. Considering its tissue and disease-specific expression involving pathophysiological processes, microRNAs are proposed as useful biomarker for prognosis, assessing disease risk. microRNAs can serve as potent biomarker for cancer and other diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. This review mainly focuses on emphasizing the biology, dysregulation associated with various disease models and use of microRNAs as potential biomarkers for disease diagnosis.