miR-224 is significantly upregulated and targets caspase-3 and caspase-7 during colorectal carcinogenesis

Fassan, M. et al. (2019) miR-224 is significantly upregulated and targets caspase-3 and caspase-7 during colorectal carcinogenesis. Translational Oncology, 12(2), pp. 282-291. (doi: 10.1016/j.tranon.2018.10.013) (PMID:30448733) (PMCID:PMC6240712)

Abstract

miR-224 has recently emerged as a driver oncomiR in sporadic colorectal carcinogenesis, but its pathogenetic role is still controversial. A large phenotypical and molecularly characterized series of preinvasive and invasive colorectal lesions was investigated for miR-224 expression by qRT-PCR and in situ hybridization. The caspase-3 and caspase-7 status was also assessed and correlated to miR-224 dysregulation. miR-224 was significantly upregulated during the adenoma-carcinoma sequence and in the context of inflammatory bowel disease dysplastic lesions, whereas its expression was significantly downregulated among BRAF-mutated tumors and in the presence of a DNA mismatch repair deficiency. miR-224 targets caspase-3 and caspase-7 in colorectal cancer, and this inverse relation was already evident from the earliest phases of transformation in intestinal mucosa. The miR-224/caspases axis may represent an interesting field of study for innovative biomarkers/therapeutics for BRAF-mutated/DNA mismatch repair-deficient tumors.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Braconi, Dr Chiara and Valeri, Dr Nicola
• Authors: Fassan, M., Cui, R., Gasparini, P., Mescoli, C., Guzzardo, V., Vicentini, C., Munari, G., Loupakis, F., Lonardi, S., Braconi, C., Scarpa, M., D'Angelo, E., Pucciarelli, S., Angriman, I., Agostini, M., D'Incá, R., Farinati, F., Gafà, R., Lanza, G., Frankel, W. L., Croce, C. M., Valeri, N., and Rugge, M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences
• Journal Name: Translational Oncology
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1944-7124
• ISSN (Online): 1936-5233
• Published Online: 16 November 2018
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Translational Oncology 12(2): 282-291
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License