Role of tRNA-derived fragments in cancer: novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets tRFs in cancer

Abstract

Recent studies have revealed that tRNAs are not always the terminal molecules and small RNA fragments can be mapped to precursor tRNA sequences or mature tRNA sequences. tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) are a novel class of small RNAs in miRNA-size found in a diverse range of organisms and can be the source of small regulatory RNAs, a previously unanticipated concept. tRFs have a diverse range of effects on cells involving in cell differentiation and homeostasis. They play a critical role in pathological processes, particularly in cancer, and therefore can modulate complicated regulatory networks. Recent studies on the role of tRFs in tumorigenesis suggest that they are promising targets for diagnosis and therapeutics. Improvement in experimental and computational approaches permit a greater understanding of the regulatory networks and will have a significant impact on both basic and clinical research.

Keywords: cancer; diagnosis; microRNA; piRNA; tRNA-derived fragments; transfer RNA; treatment.

Figure 1

Biogenesis of tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs). tRFs have different lengths. The colors denote different origin. Green circles indicate an intron present in some tRNAs.