miR-196a promotes the metastases of tumorsMay 13, 2009MicroRNAs are small RNA molecules of 20-25 nucleotides length, regulating gene expression by inhibition of transcription or translation of proteins. High levels of miR-196a, a microRNA suppressing the expression of specific homebox genes that are of high relevance for the development of human embryo, activated oncogenic pathways inside human tumor cells and induced tumor cell dissemination. miR-196a increased the chemosensitivity towards platin derivatives such as cisplatin and oxaliplatin and might be a useful biomarker. Analysing the microRNA expression pattern in pancreatic cancer by microRNA chip analyses, Carlo Croce found that 75% of tumours expressed miR-196a at a high level, predicting poor patient survival. Yekta and colleagues first described a miR-196a-directed cleavage of specific homebox genes (HoxB8, HoxC8, HoxD8 and HoxA7) in mouse embryos and mammalian cells. As a tumour-suppressive effect of HoxC8 has been previously discussed in humans, it has been hypothesized that miR-196a might promote tumour progression. A research article to be published on May 7, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. In fact, Carl Schimanski and colleagues report that miR-196a supports tumour cell detachment and tumour cell dissemination in vitro via activation of the AKT pathway. In order to confirm these experiments, they performed animal studies with immune suppressed mice which received a tail vein injection of human tumour cells. Pretreatment of tumour cells with miR-196a lead to significantly more lung metastases in these animals. Therefore, the authors conclude that miR-196a does support the development of metastases by exerting a pro-oncogenic function. Noteworthy, several other microRNA have been described that exert pro-oncogenic funtions, such as miR-17-92 which is significantly increased in small-cell lung cancer and decreases survival by inhibition of tumour-suppressor genes PTEN and RB2. The exact mode of function of miR-196a still needs to be analysed. World Journal of Gastroenterology |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Gene Expression Current Events and Gene Expression News Articles Transcription Factors May Dictate Differences Between Individuals Researchers are only beginning to understand how individual variation in gene regulation can have a lasting impact on one's health and susceptibility to certain diseases. Even oysters pay taxes In physical, as in financial growth, it's not what you make but what you keep that counts, USC marine biologists believe. Revisiting the need to detect circulating tumor cells One of the most dangerous characteristics of cancer is its ability to metastasize, or spread through the body. For this reason, oncologists have a major need for better tests to detect cells that break away from primary tumors to travel to other parts of the body. Amniotic fluid cells more efficiently reprogrammed to pluripotency than adult cells In a breakthrough that may help fill a critical need in stem cell research and patient care, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have demonstrated that skin cells found in human amniotic fluid can be efficiently "reprogrammed" to pluripotency, where they have characteristics similar to human embryonic stem cells that can develop into almost any type of cell in the human body. Using New Approach, Mayo Clinic Researchers Find Level of Gene Alters Risk of Alzheimer's Disease Using sophisticated techniques that scan the genomes of patients, researchers at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida have found that a gene appears to either help protect against development of Alzheimer's disease, or promote the disorder depending on the level of gene in the brain. New clues about the basis of muscle wasting disease New findings that shed light on how genetic damage to muscle cell proteins can lead to the development of the rare muscle-wasting disease, nemaline myopathy, are reported today (15 March) in the Biochemical Journal. Opposing functions of a key molecule in the development of organisms Scientists headed by ICREA researcher Marco Milán, at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), reveal a surprising new function of Notch protein that contrasts with the one known to date. Found in the cell membrane, this protein activates a signalling pathway that regulates the expression of genes that make the cell divide, grow, migrate, specialise or die. Roving 'Sonic hedgehog' gene may change scientists' understanding of limb growth Sonic hedgehog, a gene that plays a crucial rule in the positioning and growth of limbs, fingers and toes, has been confirmed in an unexpected place in the embryos of developing mice - the layer of cells that creates the skin. New approach to immune cell analysis seen as first step to better distinguish health and disease Investigators have developed a new mathematical approach to analyze molecular data derived from complex mixtures of immune cells. This approach, when combined with well-established techniques, readily identifies changes in small samples of human whole blood, and has the potential to distinguish between health and disease states. Asexual plant reproduction may seed new approach for agriculture Farmers throughout the world spend an estimated $36 billion a year to buy seeds for crops, especially those with sought after traits such as hardiness and pest-resistance. More Gene Expression Current Events and Gene Expression News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||