Review Article MicroRNA: Important Player in the Pathobiology of Multiple Myeloma

Copyright © 2014 C. Bi and W. J. Chng.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative CommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Recent studies have revealed a pivotal role played by a class of small, noncoding RNAs, microRNA (miRNA), in multiple myeloma (MM), a plasma cell (PC) malignancy causing significant morbidity and mortality. Deregulated miRNA expression in patient’s PCs and plasma has been associated with tumor progression, molecular subtypes, clinical staging, prognosis, and drug response in MM. A number of important oncogenic and tumor suppressor miRNAs have been discovered to regulate important genes and pathways such as p53 and IL6-JAK-STAT signaling.miRNAsmay also formcomplex regulatory circuitrywith genetic and epigenetic machineries, the deregulation of which could lead to malignant transformation and progression. The translational potential of miRNAs in the clinic is being increasingly recognized that they could represent novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. This review comprehensively summarizes current progress in delineating the roles of miRNAs in MM pathobiology and management. 1. Multiple Myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM) is a tumor of antibody-secreting plasma cells (PCs) characterized by the clonal expansion and accumulation of monotypic PCs in the bone marrow (BM) [1]. It causes about 1 % of neoplastic diseases and 13