Search results for "microRNAs"

microRNAs and cardiac progenitor cells

2012

Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs), Their Genetic Variants and miRNA in Mitral Valve Diseases: Potential Biomarker Tools and Targets for Personalized T…

2016

Mitral valve diseases (MVD)s, comprising congenital and acquired forms, are characterized by a diverse etiology, pathophysiology, prevalence, and incidence. In industrialized countries, the acquired forms represent 2.5% of all cardiovascular diseases, with a marked augmentation after the age of 65 years. In addition, all forms of MVDs (i.e., degenerative forms) have a difficult clinical management. The major challenge is 'the early diagnosis', and echocardiographic analysis has been shown inappropriate for diagnosing MVD in moderate forms. Thus, there is a strong need to identify more appropriate biomarker tools to diagnose MVDs at early clinical stage before complications occur and worsen …

Molecular dissection of human Argonaute proteins by DNA shuffling.

2013

A paramount task in RNA interference research is to decipher the complex biology of cellular effectors, exemplified in humans by four pleiotropic Argonaute proteins (Ago1-Ago4). Here, we exploited DNA family shuffling, a molecular evolution technology, to generate chimeric Ago protein libraries for dissection of intricate phenotypes independently of prior structural knowledge. Through shuffling of human Ago2 and Ago3, we discovered two N-terminal motifs that govern RNA cleavage in concert with the PIWI domain. Structural modeling predicts an impact on protein rigidity and/or RNA-PIWI alignment, suggesting new mechanistic explanations for Ago3's slicing deficiency. Characterization of hybrid…

Vertebrate Hedgehog is secreted on two types of extracellular vesicles with different signaling properties

2014

Hedgehog (Hh) is a secreted morphogen that elicits differentiation and patterning in developing tissues. Multiple proposed mechanisms to regulate Hh dispersion includes lipoprotein particles and exosomes. Here we report that vertebrate Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) is secreted on two types of extracellular-vesicles/exosomes, from human cell lines and primary chick notochord cells. Although largely overlapping in size as estimated from electron micrographs, the two exosomal fractions exhibited distinct protein and RNA composition. We have probed the functional properties of these vesicles using cell-based assays of Hh-elicited gene expression. Our results suggest that while both Shh-containing exo-ve…

Mir-661: A key Factor in Embryo-Maternal dialog With Potential Clinical Application to Predict Implantation Outcome?

2015

Implantation resulting in a full-term pregnancy is, by large, more than a passive process in which the developed conceptus is passively glued to the uterus through adhesive molecules. It is the result of a perfectly orchestrated dialog between a viable embryo and a receptive endometrium, through a mixture of paracrine and juxtacrine processes in which many key proteins and growth factors play fundamental roles (Pellicer et al., 2002.) Since their discovery, microRNAs have become prominent regulatory candidates, providing missing links for a few biological pathways in this process, although their exact role in human normal embryo formation and endometrial preparation for pregnancy remains un…

Extracellular Membrane Vesicles as Vehicles for Brain Cell-to-Cell Interactions in Physiological as well as Pathological Conditions.

2015

Extracellular vesicles are involved in a great variety of physiological events occurring in the nervous system, such as cross talk among neurons and glial cells in synapse development and function, integrated neuronal plasticity, neuronal-glial metabolic exchanges, and synthesis and dynamic renewal of myelin. Many of these EV-mediated processes depend on the exchange of proteins, mRNAs, and noncoding RNAs, including miRNAs, which occurs among glial and neuronal cells. In addition, production and exchange of EVs can be modified under pathological conditions, such as brain cancer and neurodegeneration. Like other cancer cells, brain tumours can use EVs to secrete factors, which allow escaping…

miR379-410 cluster miRNAs regulate neurogenesis and neuronal migration by fine-tuning N-cadherin

2014

N-cadherin-mediated adhesion is essential for maintaining the tissue architecture and stem cell niche in the developing neocortex. N-cadherin expression level is precisely and dynamically controlled throughout development; however, the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain largely unknown. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in the regulation of protein expression and subcellular localisation. In this study, we show that three miRNAs belonging to the miR379–410 cluster regulate N-cadherin expression levels in neural stem cells and migrating neurons. The overexpression of these three miRNAs in radial glial cells repressed N-cadherin expression and increased neural stem cell different…

Assessment of microRNAs in patients with unstable angina pectoris.

2014

Aims While cardiac troponin measurements have significantly improved the early diagnosis of myocardial infarction, the timely biomarker-based diagnosis of unstable angina pectoris (UAP) remains a major unmet clinical challenge. The aim of this study was to assess levels of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) as possible novel biomarkers in patients with UAP. Methods and results A three-phase approach was conducted, comprising (i) profiling of miRNAs in patients with UAP and controls groups; (ii) replication of significant miRNAs in an independent patient cohort, (iii) validation of a multi-miRNAs panel in a third cohort. Out of 25 miRNAs selected for replication, 8 miRNAs remained significantly …

Circulating miR-30b-5p levels in plasma as a novel potential biomarker for early detection of breast cancer

2021

Background Recently, microRNAs have been demonstrated to be potential non-invasive biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis assessment or prediction of response to treatment in cancer. In this study, we evaluate the potential of miR-30b-5p as a biomarker for early diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) in tissue and plasma. Methods Expression of miR-30b-5p was determined in a series of 112 BC and 40 normal breast tissues. Circulating miR-30b-5p levels in plasma samples were determined in a discovery cohort of 38 BC patients and 40 healthy donors and in a validation cohort of 83 BC patients and 83 healthy volunteers. miR-30b-5p expression was measured by quantitative real-time PCR and receiver operating…

A Tetra-Panel of Serum Circulating miRNAs for the Diagnosis of the Four Most Prevalent Tumor Types

2020

The purpose of this study is to clinically validate a series of circulating miRNAs that distinguish between the 4 most prevalent tumor types (lung cancer (LC)