The Role of MicroRNA in Tumorigenesis: Article Summaries
In the article “Identification of Small Molecules That Suppress MicroRNA Function and Reverse Tumorigenesis,” Watashi, Yeung, Starost, Hosmane, and Jeang (2010) explain their cell-based model of microRNA (miRNA) related tumorigenesis that was used to observe the influence of two compounds that suppress miRNA pathways and potentially reverse tumorigenesis. While screening 530 compounds, the authors have found that polylysine (PLL) and trypaflavine (TPF) are relatively non-cytotoxic compounds that suppress miRNA activity. Watashi et al. (2010) have found that it could be possible to reverse tumorigenesis with those two compounds because they act as inhibitors for the miRNA-mediated silencing function. The ...