Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the blood-cell producing bone marrow with several subtypes, and is usually fatal within months, or even weeks, if left untreated. It is now becoming clear, however, that dysregulation of microRNAs (miRs) is not simply a side effect of the cancer; rather, it could play a mechanistic role in the development of leukemia.
AML subtypes are classified according to the kind of cells in which the cancer originated, as well as the presence of several characteristic chromosomal alterations. Fusion proteins, for example, are the product of some of these chromosomal translocations and can be oncogenic. Recent studies have suggested that AML subtypes might also be characterized by their miR expression patterns. MicroRNAs are short (18 to 22 nucleotides), noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression by base-pairing with the 3′ untranslated region of a target mRNA and instigating its degradation. Researchers have proposed that ...
