Monday 26 November 2012

MicroRNA makes triple-negative breast cancer homesick

In a recent PLOS ONE paper, first author Erin Howe, PhD, cultured triple-negative breast cancer cells in forced suspension – detached from a substrate. This most aggressive form of breast cancer didn't care – it had learned to be anoikis-resistant. But then the group reintroduced miR-200c, which had been lost in these cells. MicroRNAs regulate genes, turning them on or off, and sure enough in this case, the group saw that miR-200c directly turned off the neuronal protein TrkB. With miR-200c added, TrkB turned off the cells died of homesickness. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Howe EN, et al. miR-200c Targets a NF-κB Up-Regulated TrkB/NTF3 Autocrine Signaling Loop to Enhance Anoikis Sensitivity in Triple Negative Breast Cancer. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49987.

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