MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression by binding the 3' untranslated region of mRNAs. To define their role in glomerular function, miRNA biogenesis was disrupted in mouse podocytes using a conditional Dicer allele. Mutant mice developed proteinuria by 3 wk after birth and progressed rapidly to end-stage kidney disease. Podocyte pathology included effacement, vacuolization, and hypertrophy...

Inappropriate activation of the GLI/hedgehog (GLI/Hh) signalling occurs in several human cancers, including haematological neoplasms. However, little is known about its relevance in precursor T-cell lymphoblastic lymphomas (T-LBL) development. Moreover, the mechanisms whereby GLI/Hh signalling is activated in haematological malignancies are not fully clear. Here, we show that the gene Smoothene...

Incorporating miRNA-like features into vector-based hairpin scaffolds has been shown to augment small RNA processing and RNAi efficiency. Therefore, defining an optimal, native hairpin context may obviate a need for hairpin-specific targeting design schemes, which confound the movement of functional siRNAs into shRNA/artificial miRNA backbones, or large-scale screens to identify efficacious seq...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this paper was to determine whether microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in myocardial remodeling were differentially expressed in the blood of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients, and whether circulating miRNAs correlated with the degree of left ventricular hypertrophy and fibrosis. BACKGROUND miRNAs-small, noncoding ribonucleic acids (RNAs) that regulate gene express...

INTRODUCTION Physical activity is beneficial for individual health, but endurance sport is associated with the development of arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation. The underlying mechanisms leading to this increased risk are still not fully understood. MicroRNAs are important mediators of proarrhythmogenic remodeling and have potential value as biomarkers in cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, ...

Recurrent breast cancer occurring after the initial treatment is associated with poor outcome. A bimodal relapse pattern after surgery for primary tumor has been described with peaks of early and late recurrence occurring at about 2 and 5 years, respectively. Although several clinical and pathological features have been used to discriminate between low- and high-risk patients, the identificatio...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) may regulate a number of genes, each of which may have a variety of functions. We utilized an endoarterial biopsy catheter to assess the dysregulation of miRNAs in a porcine shunt model of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Two Yucatan micropigs underwent surgical anastomosis of the left pulmonary artery to the descending aorta. Endoarterial biopsy samples were obtained at baseline...

Lung cancer is the top cancer killer worldwide with high mortality rate. Majority belong to non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been broadly explored as a drug target for therapy. However, the drug responses are not durable due to the acquired resistance. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding and endogenous molecules that can inhibit mRNA tran...

Side population (SP) contains cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs). In this study, we characterized SP cells from nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cell lines and found that SP cells had a higher self-renewal ability in vitro and greater tumorigenicity in vivo. The AKT pathway was activated in NPC SP cells. DC120, a 2-pyrimidyl-5-amidothiazole inhibitor of the ATP binding site of AKT, inhibited phosphor...