Role of hedgehog signaling related non-coding RNAs in developmental and pathological conditions.

The hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is an evolutionarily conserved pathway that regulates embryonic development in vertebrates. However, strong evidence suggests the role of its dysregulation in human diseases, especially cancers. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), belong to a group of human transcriptomes that do not translate into proteins. However, they can highly influence protein expression. This review will provide a comprehensive link between ncRNAs and Hh signaling pathways in different human diseases and development, providing insights into disease and cancer progression as well as emphasizing their therapeutic, prognostic, and diagnostic significance.

Mechanisms of cancer stem cells drug resistance and the pivotal role of HMGA2.

Nowadays, the focus of researchers is on perceiving the heterogeneity observed in a tumor. The researchers studied the role of a specific subset of cancer cells with high resistance to traditional treatments, recurrence, and unregulated metastasis. This small population of tumor cells that have stem-cell-like specifications was named Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs). The unique features that distinguish this type of cancer cell are self-renewing, generating clones of the tumor, plasticity, recurrence, and resistance to therapies. There are various mechanisms that contribute to the drug resistance of CSCs, such as CSCs markers, Epithelial mesenchymal transition, hypoxia, other cells, inflammation, and signaling pathways. Recent investigations have revealed the primary role of HMGA2 in the development and invasion of cancer cells. Importantly, HMGA2 also plays a key role in resistance to treatment through their function in the drug resistance mechanisms of CSCs and challenge it. Therefore, a deep understanding of this issue can provide a clearer perspective for researchers in the face of this problem.