Molecular cancer: researchers find new targets for breast cancer treatment

July 20, 2018 / biool / a study led by Suresh alahari, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and molecular biology, New Orleans School of medicine, LSU health, found for the first time that a small segment of RNA can cause energy metabolism disorder in cells, which is a major feature of cancer These findings have found a new target for therapeutic intervention of breast cancer The relevant research results were published in molecular cancer recently Photo source: National Cancer Institute microRNAs are a class of single strand microRNAs that play an important regulatory role in cell biology They can combine target genes to reduce their function MicroRNAs can be used as both carcinogen and tumor suppressor The team has previously found that mir-27b is a breast cancer carcinogen, and researchers have found that it is high in breast cancer tissue In this study, the researchers found that the molecule inhibited the production of a protein called pdhx Pdhx involves cell metabolism, which can affect cell proliferation The lack of pdhx means that cells can generate new cells quickly, and promote tumor growth and progress The team found a significant reduction in pdhx levels in breast cancer cells "Based on these data, we believe that inhibiting mir-27b is a new treatment for breast cancer." Dr alahari said "Inhibition of mir-27b promotes pdhx expression, which inhibits tumor proliferation through several fixed metabolic cascade reactions." According to NCI statistics, the number of new breast cancer patients in the United States in 2018 will be higher than other cancers NCI estimates that there will be 266120 new cases of breast cancer and 40920 deaths from breast cancer "The use of microRNA analogues or anti microRNA reagents will counteract their functions, and reversing the metabolism of oncogenes will be a unique cancer treatment strategy The potential clinical applications of miRNA include diagnostic tests, disease prevention and prognostic markers, which makes miRNAs a unique and attractive option for reducing cancer incidence rate and mortality Reference: Steven C eastlack et al, supply of pdhx by microrna-27b delegates cell metadata and promotions growth in burst cancer, molecular cancer (2018) Doi: 10.1186/s12943-018-0851-8