Mini-Review on Cachexia-Related miRNA.

Cachexia, or muscle wasting, is a complex metabolic syndrome associated with an underlying illness and characterized by loss of muscle mass. It is a rather prevalent condition, with impacts on patient survival, response to treatment, and quality of life. Treatment options are sparse because of cachexia's multifactorial pathogenesis. Recently, attention has focused on microRNAs (miRNAs) as potential therapeutic targets of several diseases. miRNAs are small, 18- to 25-base-long constructs that regulate gene expression on a post-transcriptional level, selectively activating or repressing elements of specific signaling pathways. In this review, we investigated whether miRNAs play any role in cachexia's biochemical pathways and if miRNA targeting has any significant impact on preclinical models of cachexia.