MiR-135a biogenesis and regulation in malignancy:a new hope for cancer research and therapy

MicroRNAs(miRNAs)are evolutionarily conserved small non-coding RNAs that affect posttranscriptional regulation by binding to the 3′-untranslated region of target messenger RNAs.MiR-135a is a critical miRNA that regulates gene expression,and many studies have focused on its function in cancer research.MiR-135a is dysregulated in various cancers and regulates cancer cell proliferation and invasionvia several signaling pathways,such as the MAPK and JAK2/STAT3 pathways.MiR-135a has also been found to promote or inhibit the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and chemoresistance in different cancers.Several studies have discovered the value of miR-135a as a novel biomarker for cancer diagnosis and prognosis.These studies have suggested the potential of therapeutically manipulating miR-135a to improve the outcome of cancer patients.Although these findings have demonstrated the role of miR-135a in cancer progression and clinical applications,a number of questions remain to be answered,such as the dual functional roles of miR-135a in cancer.In this review,we summarize the available studies regarding miR-135a and cancer,including background on the biogenesis and expression of miR-135a in cancer and relevant signaling pathways involved in miR-135a-mediated tumor progression.We also focus on the clinical application of miR-135a as a biomarker in diagnosis and as a therapeutic agent or target in cancer treatment,which will provide a greater level of insight into the translational value of miR-135a.

Current epidemiology of pancreatic cancer: Challenges and opportunities

Pancreatic cancer(PC) is an increasingly common disease worldwide. Having a better understanding of worldwide and regional epidemiologic features and risk factors of PC is essential to identify new approaches for prevention,early diagnosis, surveillance, and treatment. In this article, we review the epidemiologic features and risk factors for PC and discuss opportunities and challenges of PC future treatment.

Novel therapies targeting hypoxia mechanism to treat pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer(PC)is one of the deadliest malignancies.The high mortality rate of PC largely results from delayed diagnosis and early metastasis.Therefore,identifying novel treatment targets for patients with PC is urgently required to improve survival rates.A major barrier to successful treatment of PC is the presence of a hypoxic tumor microenvironment,which is associated with poor prognosis,treatment resistance,increased invasion and metastasis.Recent studies have identified a number of novel molecules and pathways in PC cells that promote cancer cells progression under hypoxic conditions,which may provide new therapy strategies to inhibit the development and metastasis of PC.This review summarizes the latest research of hypoxia in PC and provides an overview of how the current therapies have the capacity to overcome hypoxia and improve PC patient treatment.These findings will eventually provide guidance for future PC management and clinical trials and hopefully improve the survival of patients with PC.

Integrated analysis of gene expression and methylation profiles of novel pancreatic cancer cell lines with highly metastatic activity

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal human malignancies, partly because of its propensity for metastasis. However, highly metastatic human pancreatic cancer cell lines suitable for studies of metastasis are currently lacking. Here we established two highly metastatic human pancreatic cancer cell lines, MIA PaCa-2 In8 and Panc-1 In8, by Matrigel induction assay. The cell lines were further characterized both in vitro and in vivo. MIA PaCa-2 In8 and Panc-1 In8 cells demonstrated increased migration and invasion compared with their respective parental cells. Following injection into nude mice, MIA PaCa-2 In8 and Panc-1 In8 cells resulted in more pulmonary metastases compared with the parental cells. Furthermore, analyses of m RNA, long non-coding RNA, micro RNA, and methylation profiling revealed that these factors were aberrantly regulated in the highly metastatic cells,indicating that they probably affected metastasis. We thus established and characterized two highly metastatic human pancreatic cell lines that could be used as valuable tools for future investigations into the pathogenesis, metastasis, and potential treatment of human pancreatic cancer.