Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequently occurring malignancy in women worldwide. Despite the substantial advancement in understanding the molecular mechanisms and management of BC, it remains the leading cause of cancer death in women. One of the main reasons for this obstacle is that we have not been able to find the Achilles heel for the BC as a highly heterogeneous disease. Accumulating evidence has revealed that noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), play key roles in the development of BC; however, the involving of complex regulatory interactions between the different varieties of ncRNAs in the development of this cancer has been poorly understood. In the recent years, the newly discovered mechanism in the RNA world is “competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA)” which proposes regulatory dialogues between different RNAs, including long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), transcribed pseudogenes, and circular RNAs (circRNAs). In the latest BC research, various studies have revealed that dysregulation of several ceRNA networks (ceRNETs) between these ncRNAs has fundamental roles in establishing the hallmarks of BC development. And it is thought that such a discovery could open a new window for a better understanding of the hidden aspects of breast tumors. Besides, it probably can provide new biomarkers and potential efficient therapeutic targets for BC. This review will discuss the existing body of knowledge regarding the key functions of ceRNETs and then highlights the emerging roles of some recently discovered ceRNETs in several hallmarks of BC. Moreover, we propose for the first time the “ceRnome” as a new term in the present article for RNA research.

This review provides an update on the recent gene therapies for DMD that aim to compensate for dystrophin deficiency and the related clinical trials.

Recently extensive focus has been concentrated on the role of miRNAs in the initiation and progression of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases (CCDs) which constitute a range of conditions including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs, especially coronary artery disease (CAD)), congenital heart disease (CHD) and cerebrovascular diseases (CBVDs, especially the ischemic stroke (IS)). An increasing number of studies are evaluating the association between different miRNA polymorphisms and risk of CCDs, but results have been inconclusive. This study represents a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between miRNA polymorphisms and risk of CCDs. PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science were queried to identify eligible articles. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to assess the association of miRNA polymorphisms with CCD susceptibility. A total of 51 eligible articles evaluating the association of 31 miRNA polymorphisms were identified. Meta-analysis was performed for six miRNA polymorphisms. miR-146a rs2910164 (30 studies: 13,186 cases/14,497 controls), miR-149 rs2292832 (Nine studies: 4116 cases/3511 controls), miR-149 rs71428439 (Three studies: 1556 cases/1567 controls), miR-196a2 rs11614913 (20 studies: 10,144 cases/10,433 controls), miR-218 rs11134527 (Three studies: 2,322 cases/2,754 controls) were not associated with overall CCD. miR-499 rs3746444 was associated with CCD (20 studies: 9564 cases/8876 controls). In the subgroups, rs2910164 and rs3746444 were only associated with CVDs, especially CAD. In conclusion, the results support the existence of a role for miR-146a rs2910164 and miR-499 rs3746444 in determining susceptibility to CCDs, especially CAD.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) constitute a major class of the human transcriptome which play crucial roles in the key biological processes of both normal and malignant breast cells. Although the aberrant expression of lncRNAs has been well-documented in breast cancer (BC), little is currently known about the association between their expression levels in the breast tissue of healthy women and BC risk factors, especially the reproductive or demographic characteristics that are among the most well-known BC risk modifiers. This study was an attempt to investigate the correlation between the expression levels of 2 breast cancer-related lncRNAs, including GAS5 and LSINCT5, and reproductive and demographic characteristics in 145 normal breast tissues that were obtained from women without breast cancer undergoing cosmetic surgery. Total RNA was extracted from fresh normal breast tissues, and the expression level of target lncRNAs was quantified using real-time qPCR. Differences in the mean normalized gene expression among the subgroups of different variables were analyzed. The expression levels of both genes was lower in the overweight-obese (BMI ≥ 25) subgroup than that in the normal BMI (BMI < 25) subgroup (GAS5 P = .019, LSINCT5 P = .036). Moreover, the expression level of GAS5 was negatively correlated with BMI (r: -.170, P: .041). The expression level of GAS5 was higher in women with late menarche (>13 years) than that with early menarche (≤13 years; P = .017). These findings may assist to obtain insights into the molecular mechanisms through which the reproductive or obesity-related estrogen changes contribute to the breast carcinogenesis. In conclusion, this study presents the first evidence for the presence of a link between the lncRNA expression and the reproductive or obesity related factors in the breast tissue of healthy women.

These findings provide new hints about the relationship between epigenetic changes within the ESR1 gene CpG island and postmenopausal obesity and aging in cancer-free women. In terms of lifestyle intervention opportunities, this study also highlights the significance and feasibility of such interventions for BMI as a modifiable risk factor.