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Role for microRNAs in limb regeneration
March 17, 2008In the March 15th issue of G&D, Dr. Kenneth Poss (Duke University Medical Center) and colleagues reveal that microRNA depletion is a necessary step in tissue regeneration - a discovery with interesting implications for their use in regenerative medicine.
Dr. Poss is excited at the prospect that "there may indeed be microRNAs that when manipulated appropriately could impact and even increase the ability of a damaged human organ to regenerate healthy tissue."
Regeneration, the replacement of damaged or lost body parts, is a shared trait among some animal species - as any youngster who has cut an earthworm in half can attest to. But the repair of damaged tissue and organs in higher animals is also one of the primary goals of current stem cell research.
The common aquarium pet, zebrafish, is an excellent genetic model system, capable of regenerating its spinal cord, retina, heart and fins. First author, Viravuth Yin, and his colleagues focused on fin regeneration, as it entails the coordination of a large number of different cells types to recreate the functional organ.
The scientists noted that many microRNAs were differentially regulated during fin regeneration, but that the expression of one microRNA in particular - miR-133 - showed an antagonistic relationship with fin regeneration: When miR-133 levels are high, fin regeneration is inhibited; When miR-133 levels are low, fin regeneration is promoted.
miR-133 is regulated by the FGF signaling pathway, so by tweaking FGF activity, Dr. Poss and colleagues were able to manipulate miR-133 levels. The researchers found that experimentally increasing miR-133 levels slowed regeneration, while decreasing miR-133 levels enhanced regeneration.
"The finding that microRNA levels are being controlled during appendage regeneration to assist changes in gene expression makes sense, given how important these RNAs are in developmental biology. We were surprised, though, to see that modulating the amount of a single microRNA family could influence regenerative success in zebrafish," explains Dr. Poss.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
The common aquarium pet, zebrafish, is an excellent genetic model system, capable of regenerating its spinal cord, retina, heart and fins. First author, Viravuth Yin, and his colleagues focused on fin regeneration, as it entails the coordination of a large number of different cells types to recreate the functional organ.
The scientists noted that many microRNAs were differentially regulated during fin regeneration, but that the expression of one microRNA in particular - miR-133 - showed an antagonistic relationship with fin regeneration: When miR-133 levels are high, fin regeneration is inhibited; When miR-133 levels are low, fin regeneration is promoted.
miR-133 is regulated by the FGF signaling pathway, so by tweaking FGF activity, Dr. Poss and colleagues were able to manipulate miR-133 levels. The researchers found that experimentally increasing miR-133 levels slowed regeneration, while decreasing miR-133 levels enhanced regeneration.
"The finding that microRNA levels are being controlled during appendage regeneration to assist changes in gene expression makes sense, given how important these RNAs are in developmental biology. We were surprised, though, to see that modulating the amount of a single microRNA family could influence regenerative success in zebrafish," explains Dr. Poss.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
MicroRNAs Current Events and MicroRNAs News RSSExperimental agent reduces breast cancer metastasis to bone
Researchers have reduced breast cancer metastasis to bone using an experimental agent to inhibit ROCK, a protein that was found to be over-expressed in metastatic breast cancer.
MicroRNA-mediated metastasis suppression
Metastases are responsible for over 90% of cancer deaths. In the upcoming issue of G&D, Dr. Robert Weinberg (MIT) and colleagues lend molecular insight into how microRNAs suppress tumor metastasis.
Texas A&M researchers find new mechanism for circadian rhythm
Molecules that may hold the key to new ways to fight cancer and other diseases have been found to play an important role in regulating circadian rhythm, says Liheng Shi, a researcher in Texas A&M's Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences.
UCSF scientists illuminate how microRNAs drive tumor progression
UCSF researchers have identified collections of tiny molecules known as microRNAs that affect distinct processes critical for the progression of cancer.
Lung cancer suppresses miR-200 to invade and spread
Primary lung cancer shifts to metastatic disease by suppressing a family of small molecules that normally locks the tumor in a noninvasive state, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Sept. 15 edition of Genes and Development.
Scientists Use MicroRNAs to Track Evolutionary History for First Time
The large group of segmented worms known as annelids, which includes earthworms, leeches and bristle worms, evolved millions of years ago and can be found in every corner of the world.
MicroRNAs circulating in blood show promise as biomarkers to detect pancreatic cancer
A blood test for small molecules abnormally expressed in pancreatic cancer may be a promising route to early detection of the disease.
Predicting cancer prognosis
Researchers led by Dr. Soheil Dadras at the Stanford University Medical Center have developed a novel methodology to extract microRNAs from cancer tissues.
MicroRNA in human saliva may help diagnose oral cancer
Researchers continue to add to the diagnostic alphabet of saliva by identifying the presence of at least 50 microRNAs that could aid in the detection of oral cancer, according to a report in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Dental researchers confirm microRNAs as biomarkers for oral cancer detection
A new study published by researchers at the UCLA School of Dentistry substantiates the effectiveness of measuring the microRNAs present in saliva to detect oral squamous cell carcinoma.
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