When MicroRNAs Meet RNA Editing in Cancer: A Nucleotide Change Can Make a Difference

RNA editing is a major post-transcriptional mechanism that changes specific nucleotides at the RNA level. The most common RNA editing type in humans is adenosine (A) to inosine (I) editing, which is mediated by ADAR enzymes. RNA editing events can not only change amino acids in proteins, but also affect the functions of non-coding RNAs such as miRNAs. Recent studies have characterized thousands of miRNA RNA editing events across different cancer types. Importantly, individual cases of miRNA editing have been reported to play a role in cancer development. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of miRNA editing in cancer, and discuss the mechanisms on how miRNA-related editing events modulate the initiation and progression of human cancer. Finally, we discuss the challenges and future directions of studying miRNA editing in cancer.

RNA editing is introduced by ADAR or APOBEC enzymes, leading to specific nucleotide changes, respectively. The interplays between RNA editing and miRNAs may play important roles in cancer. This graphical abstract shows four major mechanisms through which miRNAs interact with RNA editing to confer a functional impact on tumor development.

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