MicroRNAs targeting prostate cancer stem cells

Abstract

Prostate cancer is a frequently diagnosed cancer in males with high mortality in the world. As a heterogeneous tissue, the tumor mass contains a subpopulation that is called as cancer stem cells and displays stem-like properties such as self-renewal, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, metastasis, and drug resistance. Cancer stem cells have been identified in variant tumors and shown to be regulated by various molecules including microRNAs. MicroRNAs are a class of small non-coding RNAs, which can influence tumorigenesis via different mechanisms. In this review, we focus on the functions of microRNAs on regulating the stemness of prostate cancer stem cells with different mechanisms and propose the potential roles of microRNAs in prostate cancer therapy.