Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech

MicroRNA Molecule May Serve as Biomarker, Target for Brain Metastases in Breast Cancer Patients

February 5, 2013 By AACR

 

  • MicroRNA molecule called miR-7 decreased in highly metastatic cancer stem-like cells.
  • miR-7 attenuated cancer stem-like cells’ capacity for brain metastasis in mice.
  • MicroRNA molecule suppressed KLF4 expression.

PHILADELPHIA — Researchers have identified two molecules that could potentially serve as biomarkers in predicting brain metastases in patients with breast cancer, according to data published in Cancer Research, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Currently, most deaths from breast cancer are a result of metastatic disease. New research shows that cancer stem-like cells — commonly defined as cells within a tumor with the capacity to initiate a new tumor, proliferate rapidly, differentiate and cause chemotherapy resistance — may play a role in breast cancer metastasis.

“Recent research has shown that microRNAs are involved in tumor initiation and progression, and we hypothesized that they also may play a role in metastasis, particularly in relation to cancer stem-like cells,” said Kounosuke Watabe, Ph.D., associate director for basic science at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss.

Watabe and colleagues performed microRNA profile analysis on RNA extracted from cancer stem-like cells isolated from a human breast cancer cell line and two highly metastatic variants of this cell line.

“We found that miR-7 is a metastasis suppressor in cancer stem-like cells,” Watabe said. “When we increased expression of miR-7 in cancer stem-like cells from metastatic human breast cancer cell lines, it suppressed their metastatic properties.”

Next, the researchers examined the molecular pathway downstream of miR-7 to find its targets and discovered that miR-7 suppressed expression of KLF4.

“High expression of KLF4 was inversely associated with brain metastasis-free survival but was not associated with bone metastasis,” Watabe said. “This was confirmed in an animal model when we found that expression of miR-7 significantly suppressed the ability of cancer stem-like cells to metastasize to the brain but not the bone.”

Finally, the researchers tested tumor samples from patients with breast cancer whose disease metastasized to the brain. Results showed that miR-7 was downregulated and KLF4 was upregulated. The miR-7/KLF4 axis played a critical role in cancer stem-like cell brain metastasis, according to Watabe.

Few treatments currently exist for brain metastasis because few drugs can penetrate the blood–brain barrier, which prevents chemotherapy from reaching the brain.

“Cancer cells find the brain to be a kind of sanctuary where they can survive longer,” Watabe said. “It is possible that miR-7 and KLF4 may serve as diagnostic or prognostic markers, or therapeutic targets for the prediction of, or treatment of, brain metastasis.”

DeviceTalks Weekly.

May 20, 2022
DeviceTalks Boston Post-Game – Editors’ Top Moments, Insulet’s Eric Benjamin on future of Omnipod 5
See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

Enewsletter Subscriptions

Enewsletter Subscriptions

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech 100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to E-newsletter
  • Attend our Monthly Webinars
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech