Correlation Between Dexamethasone and miRNAs in the Regulation of Apoptosis, Drug-resistance, and Metastasis of Cancer Cell

Dexamethasone (Dex) is a synthetic corticosteroid hormone derived from the steroid chemical group and is applicable in treating several pathological conditions like inflammation, autoimmune disease, and malignancies. Recent investigations on the mechanism of action of Dex and its possible interactions with other cellular regulatory networks may help explain the inconsistent effects of Dex in cancer treatment. Finetuning regulation of essential post-transcriptional regulators such as microRNA (miRNAs) has indispensable impacts on modulating fundamental cellular processes, including gene expression, cell proliferation, cell cycling, and apoptosis. Dex appears to act as a double-edged sword on cancer cell progression and metastasis through regulating miRNA networks. As a proof of concept, recent investigations have proved Dex to be effective in treatment of cancer either individually or in combination with other therapeutical compounds, while several evidences have point to the controversial effects of Dex in the promotion of cancer cell survival, drug-resistance, and metastasis. In addition, it has been proven that other non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) can also be directly or indirectly affected by Dex. In this review, we aimed to investigate the controversial effect of Dex on the cancer-related miRNAs.