TABLE I.
Specific modulation of disease-related expression of miRNAs.
| Target | Expression alteration | Physiological role | Related diseases | Delivery techniques for the modulating agent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| miR-1 | ↑/↓ | Calcium signaling controller in heart muscles41 | Coronary artery disease, gastric cancer | Intramuscular injection42 |
| miR-10b | ↑ | Metastasis activator43 | Cancer (e.g., breast, glioblastoma, melanoma) | Polymer nanoparticles (NPs), systemic injection, locked nucleic acid oligonucleotides (LNAs)44,45 |
| miR-15/16 cluster | ↓ | Tumor suppressor, impairs migration, decreases proliferation46 | Cancer (e.g., ovarian, prostate) and multiple myeloma | LNAs, viral vectors47,48 |
| miR-21, miR 221/222 cluster | ↑ | Cell growth, migration, proliferation stimulator, suppression of apoptosis49,50 | Cancer (e.g., cervical, breast, esophagus, liver, pancreas), cardiac hypertrophy, lupus, kidney fibrosis | Polymer/metal/silica NPs, stent coatings, LNAs, hydrogels, packaging RNA51–55 |
| miR-29 | ↓ | Cell survival regulator, collagen expressor, modulator for the reactivation of silenced tumor suppressor genes56 | Scleroderma, cancer (e.g., lung, breast, cholangiocarcinoma), acute myeloid leukemia | Lipopolyplex nanoparticles, systemic delivery57 |
| miR-33 | ↑ | Regulator of the genes involved in cellular cholesterol export, fatty acid oxidation, insulin signaling, glucose production58 | Atherosclerosis | LNAs, polyplexes58 |
| miR-34 family | ↓ | Tumor suppressor, immune evasion, and cell cycle modulator59 | Cancer (e.g., bladder, colon, brain), B cell lymphoma, myeloma | Polymer/lipid/silica NPs, viral vectors, dendrimers, micelles59,60 |
| miR-103, miR-107 | ↑ | Regulator of multiple genes involved in insulin signaling61 | Type II diabetes, obesity, colorectal cancer | Lipid NPs62 |
| miR-122 | ↑/↓ | Upregulates the replication of the hepatitis C virus RNA genome, tumor suppressor63 | Cancer, hepatitis C infection and related liver diseases | Locked nucleic acid antisense oligonucleotides, liposomes64–66 |
| miR-132, miR-134 | ↓ | Synapse formation and maturation67 | Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder | Polymer NPs68,69 |
| miR-141 | ↑ | Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), chemotherapy resistance stimulator50 | Cancer (e.g., prostate, lung, colorectal) | Hydrogels, carbon nanotubes70,71 |
| miR-143 | ↓ | Cell proliferation and invasion inhibitor72 | Cancer (e.g., head, neck tumors), lymphoid leukemia | Liposomes, polymer NPs73,74 |
| miR-155 | ↑ | Formation of blood cells, immune system, malignant growth, homeostasis regulator75 | Cancer (e.g., liver, thyroid, kidney), viral infections, cardiovascular diseases, Burkitt lymphoma, inflammation | Peptide nucleic acids, polymer NPs76–78 |
| miR-192 | ↓ | Targets e-cadherin (regulator of epithelial cell morphology), angiogenesis regulator79 | Diabetes-related kidney complications, cancer (e.g., ovarian, renal) | Liposomes80 |
| miR-200 family | ↓ | Modulator of tumor metastasis, invasion inhibitor, plays role in EMT, reactive oxygen species signaling regulator81 | Cancer (e.g., breast, ovarian, lung) | Xenografts, liposomes36,82 |
| miR-506 | ↓ | Modulator the expression of proteins involved in tumor metastasis, cellular senescence, DNA damage response83 | Cancer (e.g., ovarian, lung) | Liposomes, polymeric NPs83,84 |
| miR-520 | ↓ | Tumor suppressor, modulator for the expression of proteins involved in metastasis, tumor growth85 | Cancer (e.g., breast, ovarian) | Liposomes86 |