Molecular targets for therapeutic interventions in human papillomavirus-related cancers (Review)

BackgroundExpression of the microRNA miR-21 has been found to be altered in almost all types of cancers and it has been classified as an oncogenic microRNA or oncomir. Due to the critical functions of its target proteins in various signaling pathways, miR-21 is an attractive target for genetic and pharmacological modulation in various cancers. Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer in women worldwide and persistent HPV infection is the main etiologic agent. This malignancy merits special attention for the development of new treatment strategies. In the present study we analyze the role of miR-21 in cervical cancer cells.MethodsTo identify the downstream cellular target genes of upstream miR-21, we silenced endogenous miR-21 expression in a cervical intraepithelial neoplasia-derived cell lines using siRNAs. The effect of miR-21 on gene expression was assessed in cervical cancer cells transfected with the siRNA expression plasmid pSIMIR21. We identified the tumor suppressor gene PTEN as a target of miR-21 and determined the mechanism of its regulation throughout reporter construct plasmids. Using this model, we analyzed the expression of miR-21 and PTEN as well as functional effects such as autophagy and apoptosis induction.ResultsIn SiHa cells, there was an inverse correlation between miR-21 expression and PTEN mRNA level as well as PTEN protein expression in cervical cancer cells. Transfection with the pSIMIR21 plasmid increased luciferase reporter activity in construct plasmids containing the PTEN-3′-UTR microRNA response elements MRE21-1 and MRE21-2. The role of miR-21 in cell proliferation was also analyzed in SiHa and HeLa cells transfected with the pSIMIR21 plasmid, and tumor cells exhibited markedly reduced cell proliferation along with autophagy and apoptosis induction.ConclusionsWe conclude that miR-21 post-transcriptionally down-regulates the expression of PTEN to promote cell proliferation and cervical cancer cell survival. Therefore, it may be a potential therapeutic target in gene therapy for cervical cancer.

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Targeted treatments for cervical cancer: a review

Peralta‐Zaragoza¹,

Bermúdez-Morales²,

Pérez‐Plasencia³

et al. 2012

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Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in women worldwide and the development of new diagnosis, prognostic, and treatment strategies merits special attention. Although surgery and chemoradiotherapy can cure 80%–95% of women with early stage cancer, the recurrent and metastatic disease remains a major cause of cancer death. Many efforts have been made to design new drugs and develop gene therapies to treat cervical cancer. In recent decades, research on treatment strategies has proposed several options, including the role of HPV E6 and E7 oncogenes, which are retained and expressed in most cervical cancers and whose respective oncoproteins are critical to the induction and maintenance of the malignant phenotype. Other efforts have been focused on antitumor immunotherapy strategies. It is known that during the development of cervical cancer, a cascade of abnormal events is induced, including disruption of cellular cycle control, perturbation of antitumor immune response, alteration of gene expression, and deregulation of microRNA expression. Thus, in this review article we discuss potential targets for the treatment of cervical cancer associated with HPV infection, with special attention to immunotherapy approaches, clinical trials, siRNA molecules, and their implications as gene therapy strategies against cervical cancer development.

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Molecular targets for therapeutic interventions in human papillomavirus-related cancers (Review)

Cited by 3 publications

References 71 publications

An innovative systematic approach introduced the involved lncRNA-miR-mRNA network in cell cycle and proliferation after conventional treatments in breast cancer patients

An innovative systematic approach introduced the involved lncRNA-miR-mRNA network in cell cycle and proliferation after conventional treatments in breast cancer patients

Relevance of miR-21 in regulation of tumor suppressor gene PTEN in human cervical cancer cells

Targeted treatments for cervical cancer: a review

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