Project description:miR-146a is a NF-κB induced microRNA that serves as a feedback regulator of this critical pathway. In mice, deficiency of miR-146a results in hematolymphoid cancer at advanced ages as a consequence of constitutive NF-κB activity. In this study, we queried whether the deficiency of miR-146a contributes to B-cell oncogenesis. Combining miR-146a deficiency with transgenic expression of c-Myc led to the development of highly aggressive B-cell malignancies. Mice transgenic for c-Myc and deficient for miR-146a were characterized by significantly shortened survival, increased lymph node involvement, differential involvement of the spleen and a mature B-cell phenotype. High-throughput sequencing of the tumors revealed significant dysregulation of approximately 250 genes. Amongst these, the transcription factor Egr1 was consistently upregulated in mice deficient for miR-146a. Interestingly, transcriptional targets of Egr1 were enriched in both the high-throughput dataset and in a larger set of miR-146a-deficient tumors. miR-146a overexpression led to downregulation of Egr1 and downstream targets with concomitant decrease in cell growth. Direct targeting of the human EGR1 by miR-146a was seen by luciferase assay. Together our findings illuminate a bona fide role for miR-146a in the modulation of B-cell oncogenesis and reveal the importance of understanding microRNA function in a cell- and disease-specific context.
Project description:Oncogenic mutations in BRAF and NRAS occur in 70% of melanomas. Here we identify a microRNA, miR-146a, that is highly upregulated by oncogenic BRAF and NRAS. Expression of miR-146a increases the ability of human melanoma cells to proliferate in culture and form tumors in mice, whereas knockdown of miR-146a has the opposite effects. We show these oncogenic activities are due to miR-146a targeting the NUMB mRNA, a repressor of Notch signaling. Previous studies have shown that pre-miR-146a contains a single nucleotide polymorphism (C>G rs2910164). We find that the ability of pre-miR-146a/G to activate Notch signaling and promote oncogenesis is substantially higher than that of pre-miR-146a/C. Analysis of melanoma cell lines and matched patient samples indicates that during melanoma progression pre-miR-146a/G is enriched relative to pre-miR-146a/C, resulting from a C-to-G somatic mutation in pre-miR-146a/C. Collectively, our results reveal a central role for miR-146a in the initiation and progression of melanoma.
Project description:To investigate the differences in microRNA expression profiles between fibrotic and normal livers, we performed microRNA microarrays for total RNA extracts isolated from mouse livers treated with carbontetrachloride (CCl4) or corn-oil for 10 weeks (n=3/group). MicroRNAs were considered to have significant differences in expression level when the expression difference showed more than two-fold change between the experimental and control groups at p<0.05. We found that 12 miRNAs were differentially expressed in CCl4-induced fibrotic liver.
Project description:Oncogenic mutations in BRAF and NRAS occur in 70% of melanomas. Here we identify a microRNA, miR-146a, that is highly upregulated by oncogenic BRAF and NRAS. Expression of miR-146a increases the ability of human melanoma cells to proliferate in culture and form tumors in mice, whereas knockdown of miR-146a has the opposite effects. We show these oncogenic activities are due to miR-146a targeting the NUMB mRNA, a repressor of Notch signaling. Previous studies have shown that pre-miR-146a contains a single nucleotide polymorphism (C>G rs2910164). We find that the ability of pre-miR-146a/G to activate Notch signaling and promote oncogenesis is substantially higher than that of pre-miR-146a/C. Analysis of melanoma cell lines and matched patient samples indicates that during melanoma progression pre-miR-146a/G is enriched relative to pre-miR-146a/C, resulting from a C-to-G somatic mutation in pre-miR-146a/C. Collectively, our results reveal a central role for miR-146a in the initiation and progression of melanoma.
Project description:Oncogenic mutations in BRAF and NRAS occur in 70% of melanomas. Here we identify a microRNA, miR-146a, that is highly upregulated by oncogenic BRAF and NRAS. Expression of miR-146a increases the ability of human melanoma cells to proliferate in culture and form tumors in mice, whereas knockdown of miR-146a has the opposite effects. We show these oncogenic activities are due to miR-146a targeting the NUMB mRNA, a repressor of Notch signaling. Previous studies have shown that pre-miR-146a contains a single nucleotide polymorphism (C>G rs2910164). We find that the ability of pre-miR-146a/G to activate Notch signaling and promote oncogenesis is substantially higher than that of pre-miR-146a/C. Analysis of melanoma cell lines and matched patient samples indicates that during melanoma progression pre-miR-146a/G is enriched relative to pre-miR-146a/C, resulting from a C-to-G somatic mutation in pre-miR-146a/C. Collectively, our results reveal a central role for miR-146a in the initiation and progression of melanoma. SKMEL28 melanoma cell line stably expressing either an empty vector or pre-miR146a with either C or G SNP (SKMEL28-FG12, SKMEL28-miR-146a/C and SKMEL28-miR-146a/G) were used to prepare total RNA. Microarray analysis was performed by using biological replicates for each stable cell lines for a total of 6 samples.