Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 20, Issue 33, 2014

Recent studies have highlighted the pivotal role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in tumorigenesis. A growing body of data implicates that miRNAs are critically involved in regulation of cell growth, cell cycle, apoptosis, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, metastasis, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), cancer stem cell renewal, and drug resistance. Therefore, our special issue reviewed the important role of miRNAs in t Read More

Melanoma is a high-grade, poorly differentiated malignant tumor of pigment-producing cells (melanocytes), accounting for more than 70% of the skin cancer related deaths. Although new lines of targeted therapy and immunotherapy were introduced lately, durable responses are not common as it is hard to target the elusive metastatic phenotype. microRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNA molecules that function as speci Read More

Emerging evidence has shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) can act as oncogenes in the initiation and progression of leukemia and lymphoma. Aberrant expression of oncogenic miRNAs, including miR-155, miR-17-92, miR-21, miR-125b, miR-93, miR-143-p3, miR-196b, and miR-223 promotes leukemogenesis through increasing the leukemic stem/progenitor cell population, promoting cell proliferation, blocking cell differentiatio Read More

Breast cancer is one of the most common type of cancers as well as a principal cause of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide. Although research has provided a better understanding and diagnosis of breast cancer, studies in breast cancer therapeutics are still far from satisfactory. Recent research on microRNAs (miRNAs) has implicated these tiny regulatory molecules in progression of breast cancer with the possibil Read More

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), often aberrantly expressed in cancer, have been implicated in the regulation of a number of critical cell survival pathways including the genes in the Kras signaling. Kras mutations are observed in more than half of cancers and its inhibition has been the focus of intense research for the past 30 years. However, Kras itself has proven to be non-druggable due in part to the absence of binding pockets for s Read More

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and has a median 5-year survival rate less than 5%. Although surgery offers the best chance for a cure for pancreatic cancer, less than 20% of patients are eligible for potentially curative resection, because in most cases, the cancer has already spread locally or to distant organs at diagnosis, precluding resection. MicroRNAs (miRNA Read More

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers remain one of the most common malignancies and are the second common cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The limited effectiveness of therapy for patients with advanced stage and recurrent disease is a reflection of an incomplete understanding of the molecular basis of GI carcinogenesis. Major advancements have improved our understanding of pathology and pathogenesis of GI canc Read More

Metastasis and thrombosis are serious threats to cancer patients and generally associated with poor prognosis. The elusive mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of metastasis and thrombosis have been subjects of extensive investigations. The presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is closely related to tumor metastasis, and these cells play an important role in thrombosis in cancer patients. In this review, we describe t Read More

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process by which epithelial tumor cells acquire migratory and invasive abilities that enable them to spread to other organs. During this process, the tight junction molecule, E-cadherin, is often downregulated through transcription repression by the EMT-inducing transcription factors (EMT-TFs). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNA molecules which bind to the com Read More

In the past decade, cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been isolated, characterized, and studied in a variety of cancers and they are believed to be responsible for tumor initiation and progression. Like normal stem cells, these cells retain self-renewal property and therefore, can differentiate into multiple tumor types. Despite this clinical importance, how CSCs are regulated and their exact pathological role are yet to be elucidated. Read More

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenously expressed and evolutionarily conserved small non-coding RNAs, which regulate gene expression. Several studies have shown that they are involved in fundamental biological processes, such as proliferation and apoptosis. MicroRNA dysregulation plays an important role in cancer onset and progression where miRs can function as both tumor promoters (oncomiRs) or tumor suppressors Read More

From chemotherapy and radiotherapy to molecular targeted therapy, in recent decades, we have witnessed the acceleration of cancer treatments. However, nowadays, it has encountered obstacles due to multi-drug resistance, drug-induced toxicity and the insufficient disruption of cancer pathways. Thus, it is required to have more efficient approaches for cancer treatments. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are perhaps the most rese Read More

Background: Although genistein has been reported to exert its anti-tumor activity, the exact mechanism of its action is poorly elucidated. Recently, it has been found that genistein could regulate the expression of microRNAs. Therefore, our aim in the present study was to find whether genistein regulates specific miR-27a in pancreatic cancer cells. Methods: We performed our studies using multiple methods including MTT assay, Read More

Background: Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) has been demonstrated to suppress tumorigenesis in human glioma. However, the exact molecular mechanisms by which As2O3 exerts its tumor suppressor functions are elusive. Therefore, it is warranted to explore the underlying mechanism of As2O3–mediated anti-tumor activity in glioma. Methods: To achieve our goal, we used multiple approaches including MTT assay, apoptos Read More