The miRNAs in the pathgenesis of osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is an aggressive sarcoma of the bone characterized by a high level of genetic instability and recurrent DNA deletions and amplifications. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding small RNAs, usually 18-25 nucleotides in length, which repress translation and cleave mRNA by base-pairing to the 3 untranslated region of the target genes. miRNAs have demonstrated far-reaching effects on the cellular biology of development and cancer. Their role in osteosarcomagenesis remains largely unexplored. A number of reports have investigated the role of microRNAs in osteosarcoma. This review summeizes the recent research progress of miRNA in the osteosarcome.