MicroRNAs as tumor suppressorsApril 16, 2007In the May 1st issue of G&D, Drs. Yong Sun Lee and Anindya Dutta (UVA) reveal that microRNAs can function as tumor suppressors in vitro. "Overexpression of HMGA2 is an important feature of many medically important tumors like uterine fibroids," explains Dr. Dutta. "It is very exciting to realize that microRNAs have an important role in suppressing the overexpression of HMGA2, and so may have a role in the causation and perhaps the cure of a disease that is responsible for the vast majority of hysterectomies in the Western world." Studying chromosomal HMGA2 translocations that are associated with human tumors, the researchers found that in normal cells, a microRNA called let-7 binds to the 3' end of the HMGA2 mRNA transcript and suppresses its expression in the cell cytosol. However, chromosomal breaks that shorten the 3' end of the HMGA2 transcript, and prevent let-7 binding, result in aberrantly high levels of HMGA2 expression and tumorigenesis. This paper establishes that HMGA2 is a target of let-7, and that the let-7 microRNA functions as a tumor suppressor to prevent cancer formation in healthy cells.
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Related Tumor Suppressor News Articles International team reveals first prognosticator of survival in aggressive cancer The tumor suppressor gene pRb2/p130 may provide the first independent prognostic biomarker in cases of soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Why a common treatment for prostate cancer ultimately fails Some of the drugs given to many men during their fight against prostate cancer can actually spur some cancer cells to grow, researchers have found. The findings were published online this week in a pair of papers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. New insights into the regulation of PTEN tumor suppression function The PTEN tumor suppressor gene controls numerous biological processes including cell proliferation, cell growth and death. But PTEN is frequently lost or mutated; in fact, alteration of the gene is so common among various types of human cancer that PTEN has become one of the most frequently mutated of all tumor suppressors. A new cellular pathway linked to cancer is identified by NYU researchers In the life of a cell, the response to DNA damage determines whether the cell is fated to pause and repair itself, commit suicide, or grow uncontrollably, a route leading to cancer. Researchers identify promising cancer drug target in prostate tumors Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report they have blocked the development of prostate tumors in cancer-prone mice by knocking out a molecular unit they describe as a "powerhouse" that drives runaway cell growth. Novel model of osteosarcoma In the June 15th issue of G&D, Dr. Stuart Orkin (HHMI, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Children's Hospital Boston) and colleagues present a new mouse model of osteosarcoma. CSHL scientists trace causal link between a tumor suppressor gene and liver cancer Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have taken the search for cancer-causing genes an important step forward. In a newly published paper, they confirm that a gene called DLC1 is a tumor suppressor. They have demonstrated in living mice that its deletion, inactivation or loss precipitates events culminating in an aggressive type of liver cancer closely related to common human epithelial cancers of the liver (also known as hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC). UCLA researchers identify leukemia stem cells Stem cell researchers at UCLA have identified a type of leukemia stem cell and uncovered the molecular and genetic mechanisms that cause a normal blood stem cells to become cancerous. Traditional herbal medicine kills pancreatic cancer cells, Jefferson researchers report An herb used in traditional medicine by many Middle Eastern countries may help in the fight against pancreatic cancer, one of the most difficult cancers to treat. Novel enzyme inhibitor paves way for new cancer drug Combining natural organic atoms with metal complexes, scientists at The Wistar Institute have developed a new type of enzyme inhibitor capable of blocking a biochemical pathway that plays a key role in cancer development. More Tumor Suppressor News Articles |
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