Abstract
PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a novel type of small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs), which are 26–31 nucleotides in length and bind to PIWI proteins. Although piRNAs were originally discovered in germline cells and are thought to be essential regulators for germline preservation, they can also influence gene expression in somatic cells. An increasing amount of data has shown that the dysregulation of piRNAs can both promote and repress the emergence and progression of human cancers through DNA methylation, transcriptional silencing, mRNA turnover, and translational control. Digestive cancers are currently a major cause of cancer deaths worldwide. piRNAs control the expression of essential genes and pathways associated with digestive cancer progression and have been reported as possible biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of digestive cancer. Here, we highlight recent advances in understanding the involvement of piRNAs, as well as potential diagnostic and therapeutic applications of piRNAs in various digestive cancers.
Highlights
Cancer is the leading cause of death and a serious public health problem in China (Zeng et al, 2018; Feng et al, 2019)
Aub is loaded with PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and this complex recognizes and cleaves complementary RNAs
PiR-013306 is overexpressed only in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). These results showed that piRNAs are involved in the progression of HCC and show specific expression in each stage (Table 2)
Summary
Cancer is the leading cause of death and a serious public health problem in China (Zeng et al, 2018; Feng et al, 2019). In 2018, half of the newly diagnosed cancers in China were in the digestive system (Zeng et al, 2018; Feng et al, 2019). More than one-third of all deaths were related to the digestive tract (Zeng et al, 2018; Feng et al, 2019). PiRNAs for Digestive System Cancer piRNAs form complexes with PIWI proteins (Zhang et al, 2018). This article focuses on the regulatory role of piRNAs and PIWIs in digestive system cancers and discusses the potential clinical applications of piRNAs in digestive cancer diagnosis and treatment
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