MicroRNAs in the biology and diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma

Ever since their discovery, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been the subject of intense investigation of their roles in cells and tissues, both normal and disease state. Although some of the precise mechanisms of biogenesis and actions of miRNAs remain debatable, the fact that miRNAs are dysregulated in diseases such as cancer is undisputed. For many miRNA species, computational databases predict often numerous targets; however, experimental verification in vitro and in vivo is still lacking. For some miRNAs, species-specific targets have been validated; nevertheless, the precise mechanisms those targets act in and whether they are the only truly important ones remain to be discovered. The authors take a closer look at the current status of the role of miRNAs in the diagnosis and biology of cholangiocarcinomas where the perhaps biggest impact in the short term comes from the use of biomarkers in the early diagnosis.