The proto-oncogene KRAS is targeted by miR-200c

The GTPase K-ras is involved in a variety of cellular processes such as differentiation, proliferation and survival. However, activating mutations, which frequently occur in many types of cancer, turn KRAS into one of the most prominent oncogenes. Likewise, miR-200c is a key player in tumorigenesis functioning as a molecular switch between an epithelial, non-migratory, chemosensitive and a mesenchymal, migratory, chemoresistant state. While it has been reported that KRAS is modulated by several tumor suppressor miRNAs, this is the first report on the regulation of KRAS by miR-200c, both playing a pivotal role in oncogenesis. We show that KRAS is a predicted target of miR-200c and that the protein expression of KRAS inversely correlates with the miR-200c expression in a panel of human breast cancer cell lines. KRAS was experimentally validated as a target of miR-200c by Western blot analyses and luciferase reporter assays. Furthermore, the inhibitory rffect of miR-200c-dependent KRAS silencing on proliferation and cell cycle was demonstrated in dfferent breast and lung cancer cell lines. Thereby, the particular role of KRAS was dissected from the role of all the other miR-200c targets by specific knockdown experiments using siRNA against KRAS. Cell lines harboring an activating KRAS mutation were similarly affected by miR-200c as well as by the siRNA against KRAS. However, in a cell line with wild-type KRAS only miR-200c was able to change proliferation and cell cycle. Our findings suggest that miR-200c is a potent inhibitor of tumor progression and therapy resistance, by regulating a multitude of oncogenic pathways including the RAS pathway. Thus, miR-200c may cause stronger anti-tumor efffects than a specific siRNA against KRAS, emphasizing the potential role of miR-200c as tumor suppressive miRNA     

Overlooked aspects concerning development and spread of antimicrobial resistance

miRNAs are short, nonprotein coding RNAs that regulate target gene expression principally by causing translational repression and/or mRNA degradation. miRNAs are involved in most mammalian biological processes and have pivotal roles in controlling the expression of factors involved in basal and stimulus-induced signaling pathways. Considering their central role in the regulation of gene expression, miRNAs represent therapeutic drug targets. Here we describe how miRNAs are involved in the regulation of aspects of innate immunity and inflammation, what happens when this goes awry, such as in the chronic inflammatory lung diseases cystic fibrosis and asthma, and discuss the current state-of-the-art miRNA-targeted therapeutics.     

矽肺大鼠肺组织let-7d-3p和miRNA-21-5P差异表达及其初步分析

目的探索let-7d-3p和miRNA-21-5p在二氧化硅(SiO_2)诱导的大鼠纤维化肺组织中的差异表达及其意义。方法 SPF级Wistar雄性大鼠随机分为对照组和模型组,每组30只,采用一次性气管内灌注1 ml SiO_2悬浊液建立大鼠矽肺模型,对照组大鼠相同方法灌注1ml灭菌生理盐水。分别于染尘后1、7、14、21、28 d采集各组大鼠肺组织,每组取6只,对3只大鼠肺组织进行病理学观察,另外3只采用miRNA微阵列芯片技术筛选肺组织中差异表达的miRNA,通过miRNA芯片筛选结合反转录定量聚合酶链式反应(RT-qPCR)验证let-7d-3p和miRNA-21-5p在两组间的表达水平,对let-7d-3p和miRNA-21-5p进行靶基因预测并进行GO(gene ontology)富集分析和KEGG(kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes)通路分析。结果对照组大鼠1、7、14和21 d Masson染色均可见正常肺组织,未发现胶原纤维,28 d大鼠肺间质和支气管周围仅有少量纤细的胶原分布;模型组大鼠1 d和7 d未发现胶原纤维,14 d染色可见较多以淋巴细胞为主的炎症细胞浸润,未见明显纤维组织,21 d和28 d模型组大鼠肺间质内可见大片状密集的胶原纤维沉积,在肉芽组织、支气管及血管壁周围胶原蛋白增生明显。模型组中let-7d-3p的表达水平均显著下调,miRNA-21-5p表达水平均显著上调,与对照组相比差异均有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论模型组中let-7d-3p和miRNA-21-5p表达变化明显,可能与早期矽肺的发生发展有关。     

外泌体在胰腺癌中的研究现状与进展

外泌体是一种双层脂质膜连接囊泡样小体，存在于各种体液中，参与细胞及肿瘤微环境之间的物质运输和信号传递。外泌体含有多种生物活性分子，包括脂质、蛋白质、DNA、mRNA以及非编码RNA，可以通过这些活性分子影响肿瘤的发生和发展，甚至可以影响肿瘤的治疗。胰腺癌是一种常见的恶性肿瘤，侵袭性强，预后较差，死亡率高。胰腺癌来源的外泌体是胰腺肿瘤微环境中的重要组成部分，促使胰腺癌细胞成功逃避细胞凋亡的重要因素，并且可以促进肝脏转移微环境的形成。近年来，与胰腺癌相关的外泌体逐渐成为新的研究热点，研究发现外泌体有望成为早期胰腺癌筛查的新型生物学标志，并将为胰腺癌靶向治疗提供可行的技术基础。     

调控TGFβ1/SMAD通路的microRNAs在失神经支配骨骼肌中的表达

目的:本研究拟探讨骨骼肌失神经支配后差异性表达的microRNAs,并明确其是否参与调控TGFβ1/SMAD信号通路。方法:C57/BL6J小鼠,随机分为正常对照组和实验组,实验组小鼠切断右下肢坐骨神经为手术组,左下肢游离坐骨神经作为假手术组。4周后处死小鼠取腓肠肌Masson染色观察肌纤维形态变化,比较各组肌纤维横截面积。以TGFβ1/SMAD为靶基因,通过生物信息学分析寻找到18个可能的miRNAs指标。定量PCR检测其表达,并针对表达升高的microRNAs采用荧光素酶报告基因实验确认其靶基因。结果:手术组肌纤维横截面积比对照组明显缩小,对照组与假手术组肌肉之间的差异无统计学意义。在失神经骨骼肌中特异性高表达的有miR-424、miR-744、miR-15a。在C2C12细胞系中行报告基因实验显示,与对照组比较,转染miR-744后,SMAD3的荧光素酶强度下降;转染miR-15a后,TGFβ1的荧光素酶强度下降;转染miR-424后,SMAD3的荧光素酶强度变化无统计学意义。PCR验证microRNAs的靶基因显示,转染miR-744、miR-15a的模拟物后,分别对应的SMAD3、TGFβ1表达下调,差异有统计学意义。结论:miR-424、miR-744、miR-15a可能参与调控失神经支配导致的骨骼肌萎缩纤维化,其中miR-744的靶基因是SMAD3,miR-15a的靶基因是TGFβ1。     

Melatonin modulates neonatal brain inflammation through endoplasmic reticulum stress,autophagy, and miR‐34a/silent information regulator 1 pathway

Maternal infection/inflammation represents one of the most important factors involved in the etiology of brain injury in newborns. We investigated the modulating effect of prenatal melatonin on the neonatal brain inflammation process resulting from maternal intraperitoneal (i.p.) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injections. LPS (300 μg/kg) was administered to pregnant rats at gestational days 19 and 20. Melatonin (5 mg/kg) was administered i.p. at the same time as LPS. Melatonin counteracted the LPS sensitization to a second ibotenate‐induced excitotoxic insult performed on postnatal day (PND) 4. As melatonin succeeded in reducing microglial activation in neonatal brain at PND1, pathways previously implicated in brain inflammation regulation, such as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, autophagy and silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1), a melatonin target, were assessed at the same time‐point in our experimental groups. Results showed that maternal LPS administrations resulted in an increase in CHOP and Hsp70 protein expression and eIF2α phosphorylation, indicative of activation of the unfolded protein response consequent to ER stress, and a slighter decrease in the autophagy process, determined by reduced lipidated LC3 and increased p62 expression. LPS‐induced inflammation also reduced brain SIRT1 expression and affected the expression of miR‐34a, miR146a, and miR‐126. All these effects were blocked by melatonin. Cleaved‐caspase‐3 apoptosis pathway did not seem to be implicated in the noxious effect of LPS on the PND1 brain. We conclude that melatonin is effective in reducing maternal LPS‐induced neonatal inflammation and related brain injury. Its role as a prophylactic/therapeutic drug deserves to be investigated by clinical studies.     

Binding of intronic miRNAs to the mRNAs of host genes encoding intronic miRNAs and proteins that participate in tumourigenesis

In this study, we examined 615 host genes encoding 915 in-miRNAs as possible targets for interactions with all in-miRNAs. Host genes whose proteins are involved in esophageal, gastric, small bowel, colorectal, and breast cancer development were studied. Unique in-miRNA binding sites with a significance of p<0.0005 were found in the 5′UTRs, CDSs, and 3′UTRs of the host genes encoding proteins that are key participants in tumourigenesis. These data shed light on the interactions between miRNAs and mRNAs and on the role of candidate proteins in cancer. Therefore, our findings have potential application in the development of diagnostic and treatment methods.     

miRNA和膀胱癌发生发展的研究进展

<正>膀胱癌是国内泌尿生殖系统最常见的肿瘤,其发病率和死亡率均占泌尿生殖系统肿瘤第一位。膀胱癌具有易转移、易复发等特点,早期膀胱癌又无明显症状,因此许多患者诊断出时常已发生转移,导致预后不佳。鉴于现有膀胱癌的诊断及治疗方法存在不足,亟需新的诊断标志和有效治疗策略。当前研究表明,在膀胱中存在异常表达的特定miRNA,且与膀胱癌的发生发展密切相关,可能作为膀胱癌治疗的新靶点。本文就miRNA和膀胱癌的发生发展关系进行综述。     

MicroRNAs in hepatic pathophysiology

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small non‐coding RNAs that range in length from 20 to 25 nucleotides. MicroRNAs are specific for multiple cellular functions, including cell generation, differentiation, multiplication, carcinogenesis, and apoptosis. Many researchers have recently reported that the aberrant expression of miRNAs in hepatic tissue was related to the pathogenesis of liver disease, including viral hepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and fatty liver disease. Multiple studies have proposed that an analysis of circulating miRNAs may be useful for diagnosing etiologies or staging the progression of liver disease, as well as for therapeutic purposes, for example, nucleic acid therapy. This review summarizes and discusses recent advances in the knowledge of miRNAs for chronic liver diseases, with special interest in viral hepatitis, liver fibrosis, and biomarkers.     

Use of RNA in drug design

This is a review of RNA as a target for small molecules (ribosomes, riboswitches, regulatory RNAs) and RNA-derived oligonucleotides as tools (antisense/small interfering RNA, ribozymes, aptamers/decoy RNA and microRNA). This review highlights the present state of research using RNA as a drug target or as a potential drug candidate and explains at which stage and to what extent rational design could eventually be involved. Special attention has been paid to the recent potential clinical applications of RNA either as drugs or drug targets. The review deals mainly with mechanistic approaches rather than with physicochemical or computational aspects of RNA-based drug design.