fig1

Figure 1. Biogenesis of miRNAs begins with pri-miRNA transcription, which interact with DGCR8 and DROSHA. Guided by DGCR8, DROSHA cleaves the stem-loop structure from pri-miRNAs in the nucleus, generating pre-miRNAs. Pre-miRNAs are then exported to the cytoplasm via exportin-5, where DICER further cleaves them to form mature miRNA complexes. In the presence of a stimulus, such as a drug, enzymatic modifications can occur to activate or inactivate the drug. miRNAs can influence drug responses by promoting drug efflux from the cytoplasm before the full therapeutic dosage is delivered or by modulating DDR mechanisms. Created in BioRender. Jurj, M. (2025) https://BioRender.com/s6bhh3f. miRNA: MicroRNA; pri-miRNAs: primary miRNAs; DGCR8: DiGeorge syndrome critical region 8; pre-miRNAs: precursor miRNAs; DDR: DNA damage responses; TRBP: HIV-1 TAR RNA-binding protein; AGO: Argonaute; RISC: RNA-induced silencing complex; P-gp: P-glycoprotein; MRP1: MDR-associated protein 1; ATM: ataxia telangiectasia mutated; BCL2: B-cell lymphoma 2.