MicroRNA in tumor angiogenesis and target therapy

Angiogenesis is a complex process and plays an important role in tumor growth and metastasis.Among the factors of angiogenesis, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is most widely studied factor in the regulation of tumor angiogenesis.MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that play a vital role in tumor angiogenesis and metastasis through post-transcriptional regulation.They can function in diverse biological processes via regulating multiple pathways, such as VEGF, to promote or inhibit tumor angiogenesis.Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular malignant tumor.It seriously threatens vision, eyeballs and even life of patient.Since angiogenesis plays an important role in UM tumor growth, invasion and metastasis, understanding the regulation of tumor angiogenesis has become important for tumor therapy.In this review, we summarized the regulatory role of miRNAs and their targets in tumor angiogenesis and discussed the potential therapeutic interventions of miRNAs for tumor angiogenesis, including nanoparticles and cell-derived membrane vesicles.