MicroRNAs (
miRNAs) are a family of short, noncoding, 19-23 base pair
RNA molecules. Due to their unique role in gene regulation in various tissues,
miRNAs play important roles in regulating insulin secretion,
metabolic disease, and
cancer biology. Emerging evidence demonstrates that
miRNAs could also be novel diagnostic markers for a variety of disease states. Additionally,
miRNAs have been found to function either as oncogenes, or tumor suppressor genes in cerian
cancers. An increasing number of studies have been conducted investigating new drugs targeting
miRNAs as a potential anticancer
therapy.
Metformin is the most widely prescribed medication for treating
Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Recent clinical data suggests that
metformin impacts the
miRNA profile in T2D subjects. Most excitingly, studies have found that
metformin is protective against
cancer. The anticancer activity of
metformin is mediated through a direct regulation of
miRNAs, which further modulates several downstream genes in metabolic or preoncogenic pathways. These
miRNAs are, therefore, prospective therapeutic targets for treating diabetes and
cancer which is the topic of this review. Further study on the regulation of
miRNAs by
metformin could result in novel therapeutic strategies for recurrent or
drug-esistant
cancer, and as part of combinatorial approaches with conventional anticancer
therapies.