Royan Institute and University of Duisburg-Essen Launch namiRa, a Manually Curated Database of Cancer-Associated microRNAs from Nearly 10,000 Publications
核心洞察
Researchers developed namiRa (搜索) by systematically curating 9,983 scientific publications, integrating experimentally validated data on 1,095 human miRNAs across 33 cancer (搜索) types.
The database provides multi-layered evidence including miRNA expression patterns, functional characterization from in vitro and in vivo studies, validated target genes, and interactive regulatory network visualization.
namiRa (搜索) aims to accelerate cancer (搜索) biomarker discovery, therapeutic target identification, and data-driven precision medicine research.
A team of researchers from Iran's Royan Institute, in collaboration with the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany, has developed namiRa (搜索) — a comprehensive, manually curated database that consolidates experimentally validated information on cancer (搜索)-associated microRNAs (miRNAs) from nearly 10,000 scientific publications. The resource, described as one of the world's most comprehensive for investigating miRNA roles in human cancers, is now freely available to the global scientific community.
The study describing namiRa (搜索) has been published in the international peer-reviewed journal Computers in Biology and Medicine (Elsevier), a leading publication in computational medicine and biomedical informatics.
Systematic Curation Across 33 Cancer (搜索) Types
To construct namiRa (搜索), the research team — led by Dr. Sharif Moradi and colleagues at the Royan Institute together with researchers from the University of Duisburg-Essen — performed a systematic literature review followed by meticulous manual curation of 9,983 eligible scientific publications. This effort enabled the extraction, classification, and integration of experimentally validated data describing the associations between 1,095 human miRNAs and 33 distinct human cancer (搜索) types.
The name namiRa (搜索), meaning "immortal" in Persian, reflects the database's ambition to serve as an enduring resource for the cancer (搜索) research community.
Multi-Layered Evidence Integration
Unlike many existing databases that primarily provide basic expression profiles or miRNA-target information, namiRa (搜索) integrates multiple layers of experimentally validated evidence. These include miRNA expression patterns, detection methodologies, functional characterization derived from both in vitro and in vivo studies, validated target genes, and interactive visualization of miRNA regulatory networks.
This integrated framework is designed to provide researchers with a comprehensive understanding of the roles of miRNAs in cancer (搜索) initiation, progression, and metastasis, while also facilitating comparative analyses across different cancer types.
Significance for Precision Oncology
MicroRNAs are small non-coding regulatory RNA molecules that modulate gene expression and play fundamental roles in a wide range of biological processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, survival, and apoptosis. Aberrant miRNA expression and function have been implicated in the initiation and progression of numerous human malignancies, making these molecules one of the principal focuses of contemporary cancer (搜索) research and precision oncology.
According to the investigators, namiRa (搜索) constitutes a valuable scientific infrastructure that can facilitate the identification of novel cancer (搜索) biomarkers, accelerate the discovery of therapeutic targets, and support the design of future cancer research. By transforming dispersed experimental findings into a unified, high-quality reference resource, the database also advances data-driven biomedical research and promotes the application of emerging computational technologies in precision medicine.
The namiRa (搜索) database is freely accessible through an open-access web platform at www.namira-db.com.