Journal Article•
Oncomirs : microRNAs with a role in cancer
TL;DR: I MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of small non-protein-coding RNAs that function as negative gene regulators as discussed by the authors, and have been shown to repress the expression of important cancer-related genes and might prove useful in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Abstract: I MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of small non-protein-coding RNAs that function as negative gene regulators. They regulate diverse biological processes, and bioinformatic data indicates that each miRNA can control hundreds of gene targets, underscoring the potential influence of miRNAs on almost every genetic pathway. Recent evidence has shown that miRNA mutations or mis-expression correlate with various human cancers and indicates that miRNAs can function as tumour suppressors and oncogenes. miRNAs have been shown to repress the expression of important cancer-related genes and might prove useful in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
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TL;DR: An overview on the role of miRNAs in anticancer drug resistance is provided, reporting the main studies on alterations in cell survival and/or apoptosis pathways, as well as in drug targets and determinants of drug metabolism, mediated by deregulation of miRNA expression.
Abstract: Drug resistance remains a major problem in the treatment of cancer patients for both conventional chemotherapeutic and novel biological agents. Intrinsic or acquired resistance can be caused by a range of mechanisms, including increased drug elimination, decreased drug uptake, drug inactivation and alterations of drug targets. Recent data showed that other than by genetic (mutation, amplification) and epigenetic (DNA hypermethylation, histone post-translational modification) changes, drug resistance mechanisms might also be regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs). In this review we provide an overview on the role of miRNAs in anticancer drug resistance, reporting the main studies on alterations in cell survival and/or apoptosis pathways, as well as in drug targets and determinants of drug metabolism, mediated by deregulation of miRNA expression. The current status of pharmacogenetic studies on miRNA and their possible role in cancer stem cell drug resistance are also discussed. Finally, we integrated the preclinical data with clinical evidences, in lung and pancreatic cancers, showing how the study of miRNAs could help to predict resistance of individual tumours to different anticancer drugs, and guide the oncologists in the selection of rationally based tailor-made treatments.
154 citations
TL;DR: Investigation of potential miRNAs that can be used as biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets and can provide insight into the severity and ethnic biasness of PCa showed that miR-205 and mi-214 are downregulated in PCa and may serve as potential non-invasive molecular biomarker for PCa.
Abstract: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common type of cancer in men in the United States, which disproportionately affects African American descents. While metastasis is the most common cause of death among PCa patients, no specific markers have been assigned to severity and ethnic biasness of the disease. MicroRNAs represent a promising new class of biomarkers owing to their inherent stability and resilience. In the present study, we investigated potential miRNAs that can be used as biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets and can provide insight into the severity and ethnic biasness of PCa. PCR array was performed in FFPE PCa tissues (5 Caucasian American and 5 African American) and selected differentially expressed miRNAs were validated by qRT-PCR, in 40 (15 CA and 25 AA) paired PCa and adjacent normal tissues. Significantly deregulated miRNAs were also analyzed in urine samples to explore their potential as non-invasive biomarker for PCa. Out of 8 miRNAs selected for validation from PCR array data, miR-205 (p<0.0001), mir-214 (p<0.0001), miR-221(p<0.001) and miR-99b (p<0.0001) were significantly downregulated in PCa tissues. ROC curve shows that all four miRNAs successfully discriminated between PCa and adjacent normal tissues. MiR-99b showed significant down regulation (p<0.01) in AA PCa tissues as compared to CA PCa tissues and might be related to the aggressiveness associated with AA population. In urine, miR-205 (p<0.05) and miR-214 (p<0.05) were significantly downregulated in PCa patients and can discriminate PCa patients from healthy individuals with 89% sensitivity and 80% specificity. In conclusion, present study showed that miR-205 and miR-214 are downregulated in PCa and may serve as potential non-invasive molecular biomarker for PCa.
154 citations
TL;DR: These findings provide the first clues regarding the role of the miR-143/145 cluster as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer through the inhibition of ERBB3 translation and support the idea that different miRNAs in a cluster can synergistically repress a given target mRNA.
Abstract: ERBB3, one of the four members of the ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases, plays an important role in breast cancer etiology and progression. In the present study, we aimed to identify novel miRNAs that can potentially target ERBB3 and their biological functions. The expression levels of miR-143/145 and target mRNA were examined by relative quantification RT-PCR, and the expression levels of target protein were detected by Western blot. We used bioinformatic analyses to search for miRNAs that can potentially target ERBB3. Luciferase reporter plasmids were constructed to confirm direct targeting. Furthermore, the biological consequences of the targeting of ERBB3 by miR-143/145 were examined by cell proliferation and invasion assays in vitro and by the mouse xenograft tumor model in vivo. We identified an inverse correlation between miR-143/145 levels and ERBB3 protein levels, but not between miR-143/145 levels and ERBB3 mRNA levels, in breast cancer tissue samples. We identified specific targeting sites for miR-143 and miR-145 (miR-143/145) in the 3’-untranslated region (3’-UTR) of the ERBB3 gene and regulate ERBB3 expression. We demonstrated that the repression of ERBB3 by miR-143/145 suppressed the proliferation and invasion of breast cancer cells, and that miR-143/145 showed an anti-tumor effect by negatively regulating ERBB3 in the xenograft mouse model. Interestingly, miR-143 and miR-145 showed a cooperative repression of ERBB3 expression and cell proliferation and invasion in breast cancer cells, such that the effects of the two miRNAs were greater than with either miR-143 or miR-145 alone. Taken together, our findings provide the first clues regarding the role of the miR-143/145 cluster as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer through the inhibition of ERBB3 translation. These results also support the idea that different miRNAs in a cluster can synergistically repress a given target mRNA.
153 citations
TL;DR: Two important genes with positive effects on cell growth and survival, MYCN and AKT2, can be linked into a common genetic pathway through the actions of miR-184, which could be of potential benefit in miRNA mediated therapeutics of MYCN amplified neuroblastoma and other forms of cancer.
Abstract: Background
Neuroblastoma is a paediatric cancer of the sympathetic nervous system. The single most important genetic indicator of poor clinical outcome is amplification of the MYCN transcription factor. One of many down-stream MYCN targets is miR-184, which is either directly or indirectly repressed by this transcription factor, possibly due to its pro-apoptotic effects when ectopically over-expressed in neuroblastoma cells. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the molecular mechanism by which miR-184 conveys pro-apoptotic effects.
153 citations
TL;DR: Novel probe-level microarray analyses that reveal connections between mRNA processing and neoplasia in multiple tumor types, with diagnostic potential, and suggests that alternative mRNA processing, particularly APA, can be a powerful molecular biomarker with prognostic potential.
Abstract: Molecular cancer diagnostics are an important clinical advance in cancer management, but new methods are still needed. In this context, gene expression signatures obtained by microarray represent a useful molecular diagnostic. Here, we describe novel probe-level microarray analyses that reveal connections between mRNA processing and neoplasia in multiple tumor types, with diagnostic potential. We now show that characteristic differences in mRNA processing, primarily in the 3'-untranslated region, define molecular signatures that can distinguish similar tumor subtypes with different survival characteristics, with at least 74% accuracy. Using a mouse model of B-cell leukemia/lymphoma, we find that differences in transcript isoform abundance are likely due to both alternative polyadenylation (APA) and differential degradation. While truncation of the 3'-UTR is the most common observed pattern, genes with elongated transcripts were also observed, and distinct groups of affected genes are found in related but distinct tumor types. Genes with elongated transcripts are overrepresented in ontology categories related to cell-cell adhesion and morphology. Analysis of microarray data from human primary tumor samples revealed similar phenomena. Western blot analysis of selected proteins confirms that changes in the 3'-UTR can correlate with changes in protein expression. Our work suggests that alternative mRNA processing, particularly APA, can be a powerful molecular biomarker with prognostic potential. Finally, these findings provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of gene deregulation in tumorigenesis.
153 citations
References
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TL;DR: Although they escaped notice until relatively recently, miRNAs comprise one of the more abundant classes of gene regulatory molecules in multicellular organisms and likely influence the output of many protein-coding genes.
32,946 citations
TL;DR: Two small lin-4 transcripts of approximately 22 and 61 nt were identified in C. elegans and found to contain sequences complementary to a repeated sequence element in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of lin-14 mRNA, suggesting that lin- 4 regulates lin- 14 translation via an antisense RNA-RNA interaction.
11,932 citations
TL;DR: A new, bead-based flow cytometric miRNA expression profiling method is used to present a systematic expression analysis of 217 mammalian miRNAs from 334 samples, including multiple human cancers, and finds the miRNA profiles are surprisingly informative, reflecting the developmental lineage and differentiation state of the tumours.
Abstract: Recent work has revealed the existence of a class of small non-coding RNA species, known as microRNAs (miRNAs), which have critical functions across various biological processes. Here we use a new, bead-based flow cytometric miRNA expression profiling method to present a systematic expression analysis of 217 mammalian miRNAs from 334 samples, including multiple human cancers. The miRNA profiles are surprisingly informative, reflecting the developmental lineage and differentiation state of the tumours. We observe a general downregulation of miRNAs in tumours compared with normal tissues. Furthermore, we were able to successfully classify poorly differentiated tumours using miRNA expression profiles, whereas messenger RNA profiles were highly inaccurate when applied to the same samples. These findings highlight the potential of miRNA profiling in cancer diagnosis.
9,470 citations
TL;DR: The predicted regulatory targets of mammalian miRNAs were enriched for genes involved in transcriptional regulation but also encompassed an unexpectedly broad range of other functions.
5,246 citations
TL;DR: The two RNase III proteins, Drosha and Dicer, may collaborate in the stepwise processing of miRNAs, and have key roles in miRNA-mediated gene regulation in processes such as development and differentiation.
Abstract: Hundreds of small RNAs of approximately 22 nucleotides, collectively named microRNAs (miRNAs), have been discovered recently in animals and plants. Although their functions are being unravelled, their mechanism of biogenesis remains poorly understood. miRNAs are transcribed as long primary transcripts (pri-miRNAs) whose maturation occurs through sequential processing events: the nuclear processing of the pri-miRNAs into stem-loop precursors of approximately 70 nucleotides (pre-miRNAs), and the cytoplasmic processing of pre-miRNAs into mature miRNAs. Dicer, a member of the RNase III superfamily of bidentate nucleases, mediates the latter step, whereas the processing enzyme for the former step is unknown. Here we identify another RNase III, human Drosha, as the core nuclease that executes the initiation step of miRNA processing in the nucleus. Immunopurified Drosha cleaved pri-miRNA to release pre-miRNA in vitro. Furthermore, RNA interference of Drosha resulted in the strong accumulation of pri-miRNA and the reduction of pre-miRNA and mature miRNA in vivo. Thus, the two RNase III proteins, Drosha and Dicer, may collaborate in the stepwise processing of miRNAs, and have key roles in miRNA-mediated gene regulation in processes such as development and differentiation.
5,191 citations