Dual Role of microRNAs in Autophagy of Colorectal Cancer

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved pathway that eliminates unwanted proteins out of the cell and increases cell survival. However, dysfunctional autophagy is associated with cancer progression, cellular adaptation, cancer metastasis and makes it an attractive therapeutic target. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small single-stranded non-coding RNA molecules that usually bind to 3'UTR of mRNAs. This interaction eventually inhibits protein synthesis by repressing translation and/or by degrading mRNAs. miRNAs play a crucial role in the regulation of autophagy and also behave as both tumor suppressors and promoters in colorectal cancer. This paper defines an overall molecular view of how miRNAs regulate the dual role of autophagy in colorectal cancer. It also highlights how long noncoding RNAs modulate miRNAs expression to regulate autophagy in colorectal cancer. Thus, targeting autophagy by miRNAs seems to be a potential therapeutic strategy for colorectal cancer.