miRNAs (microRNAs) play important regulatory roles in many endometrial processes. For instance, miR-125b and -155 are necessary for the proper development of T, B and dendritic cells whereas miR-155 is important for both the inflammatory and apoptotic responses. MiR-221 and -222 with potential roles in apoptosis may also play a role in angiogenesis. For a detailed list of these miRNAs, check PMID 18951330.

In addition, aberrant expression of miRNA has been associated with many types of cancer. Among the miRNAs differentially expressed in tumor versus normal endometrial tissues are miR-205, -182, 200a, and -183 (up) and miR-411 (down), by fold change. Likewise, among the miRNAs differentially expressed between cancer types are miR01-9a, -19b, -182 and -301 (down, but note miR-182 up-regulated with respect to normal tissue) and miR-22, -133a and -518b (up). For a detailed list, check PMID 20542546.

Many of these miRNAs have entries in RGD for rat, human and mouse with links to Entrez which provides links to the microRNA database – miRBase.