Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common types of
cancer and one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide.
MicroRNAs (
miRNAs) play central roles in normal cell maintenance, development, and other physiological processes. Growing evidence has illustrated that dysregulated
miRNAs can participate in the initiation, progression,
metastasis, and therapeutic resistance that confer
miRNAs to serve as clinical
biomarkers and therapeutic targets for CRC. Through binding to the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of target genes,
miRNAs can lead to target mRNA degradation or inhibition at a post-transcriptional level. During the last decade, studies have found numerous
miRNAs and their potential targets, but the complex network of
miRNA/Targets in CRC remains unclear. In this review, we sought to summarize the complicated roles of the
miRNA-target regulation network (Wnt, TGF-β, PI3K-AKT, MAPK, and EMT related pathways) in CRC with up-to-date, high-quality published data. In particular, we aimed to discuss the downstream
miRNAs of specific pathways. We hope these data can be a potent supplement for the canonical
miRNA-target regulation network.