MicroRNA-17-5p: At the Crossroads of Cancer and Aging - A Mini-Review

The miR-17-92 cluster, led by its most prominent member, miR-17-5p, has been identified as the first miRNA with oncogenic potential. Thus, the whole cluster containing miR-17-5p has been termed oncomiR-1. It is strongly expressed in embryonic stem cells and has essential roles in vital processes like cell cycle regulation, proliferation and apoptosis. The importance of miR-17-5p for fundamental biological processes is underscored by the fact that a miR17-deficient mouse is neonatally lethal. Recently, miR-17-5p was identified in the context of aging, since it is comprised in a common signature of miRNAs that is downregulated in several models of aging research. Recently, miR-17-5p turned out to be the first ‘longevimiR' in an animal model, extending the lifespan of a transgenic miR-17-5p-overexpressing mouse. Here, we summarize the current status of research on miR-17-5p with emphasis on its role in cellular senescence, aging and cancer, which points to a pleiotropic function of miR-17-5p regulating multiple targets involved in autophagy, cell cycle regulation and apoptosis in a tissue-dependent fashion. In addition, its elevated presence in serum or plasma of a wide range of tumor patients suggests using it as an ‘alarmiR', a general indicator of a potential tumor pathology. However, amounts of circulating miR-17-5p of healthy individuals as reference values are still missing, before any miRNA can be classified as such an ‘alarmiR'. In conclusion, miR-17-5p is at the crossroads of aging, longevity and cancer and might represent a promising biomarker or even therapeutic tool and target in this context.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: MicroRNA-17-5p: At the Crossroads of Cancer and Aging - A Mini-Review ; volume:63 ; number:1 ; year:2017 ; pages:20-28 ; extent:9 ; Gerontology ; 63, Heft 1 (2017), 20-28 (gesamt 9)

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Medizin, Gesundheit

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Dellago, Hanna ; Bobbili, Madhusudhan Reddy ; Grillari, Johannes

Further information

• DOI: 10.1159/000447773
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2024022200043239493833
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 14.08.2025, 10:55 AM CEST