Yale scientists show that a microRNA can reduce lung can...( New Haven Conn. A small RNA molecul...)

New Haven, Conn. A small RNA molecule, known as let-7 microRNA (miRNA), substantially reduced cancer growth in multiple mouse models of lung cancer, according to work by researchers at Yale University and Asuragen, Inc., published in the journal Cell Cycle.

Cancer afflicts 1.5 million people a year in the United States alone, and lung cancer is the most common and deadly form of cancer worldwide. This study indicates a direct role for a miRNA in cancer progression and introduces a new paradigm of using miRNAs as effective therapeutic agents to treat human cancer.

We believe this is the first report of a miRNA being used to a beneficial effect on any cancer, let alone lung cancers, the deadliest of all cancers worldwide, said senior author Frank Slack, associate professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at Yale.

Slacks research group initially discovered the let-7 miRNA in C. elegans, a tiny worm used as a model system for studying how organisms develop, grow and age. They went on to show that in humans, let-7 negatively regulates a well-known determinant of human lung cancers, the RAS oncogene.

In collaboration with scientists at Asuragen, the Slack lab has studied the tumor suppressor activity of this small RNA. Their work revealed that let-7 is commonly present at substantially reduced levels in lung tumors and that reduced levels of let-7 likely contribute to the development of the tumors. These discoveries focused public attention and research efforts to understand the potential use of naturally occurring microRNAs like let-7 to combat cancer.

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