Cross-talk between miRNA and Notch signaling pathways in tumor development and progression.

Notch signaling pathways are known to regulate many cellular processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis, and is one of the most important signaling pathway during normal development. Recently, emerging evidences suggest that microRNAs (miRNAs) can function as key regulators of various biological and pathologic processes during tumor development and progression. Notch signaling has also been reported to be regulated through cross-talk with many pathways and factors where miRNAs appears to play a major role. This article will provide a brief overview of the published evidences for the cross-talks between Notch and miRNAs. Further, we summarize how targeting miRNAs by natural agents could become a novel and safer approach for the prevention of tumor progression and treatment. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.