Role for miR-21 in regulating certain cancer cells

Regulus Therapeutics, a joint venture between US RNAi specialists Alnylam and Isis, say that new data has been reported on the role of a microRNA known as miR-21 in regulating certain cancer cells.

Researchers at Regulus, Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, discovered a new role for miR-21 in glioblastoma multiforme, the most malignant and aggressive form of glioma, a primary brain tumor. The data were published in the latest edition of Molecular and Cellular Biology.

In the peer-reviewed research paper, scientists showed that increased miR-21 levels in tumor cells correlated with the grade or aggressiveness of the tumor. The highest levels of miR-21 were associated with the most aggressive forms of GBM. Inhibiting miR-21 function in human tumor cells affected the expression of genes associated with tumor invasiveness, proliferation, migration and other processes exploited by tumor cells.