Premalignant PTEN-deficient thymocytes activate microRNAs miR-146a and miR-146b as a cellular defense against malignant transformation.

ABSTRACT: Cancer develops by a multistep process during which cells acquire characteristics that allow them to evade apoptosis and proliferate unchecked. Sequential acquisition of genetic alterations drives this process but also causes cellular stress, frequently prompting cells to enter a premalignant period during which they mount a defense against transformation. T cell-specific deletion of the tumor suppressor PTEN in mice induces premalignancy in the thymus and development of CD4(+) T-cell lymphomas in the periphery. Here we sought to identify factors mediating the cellular defense against transformation during the premalignant period. We identified several microRNAs upregulated specifically in premalignant thymocytes, including miR-146a, miR-146b, and the miR-183/96/182 cluster. CD4-driven T c

SUBMITTER: Burger ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4073325 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature