BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential value of circulating miRNA-122a and miRNA-221 in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS Serum samples were obtained from 85 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and 85 age-matched and sex-matched healthy volunteers. miRNAs were isolated from the serum samples, and alfa-fetoprotein levels were determined. Expressi...

Deregulated cell proliferation and apoptosis play a major role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MicroRNAs participate in the modulation of key molecules linked to hepatocarcinogenesis. Purpose: This study aims to investigate the role of miR-221 in the modulation of Bmf, a proapoptotic BH3-only protein, and to characterize miR-221 contribution to hepatocarcinogenesis through modulation of apop...

We show that two host-encoded primary RNAs (pri-miRs) and the corresponding microRNA (miR) clusters--widely reported to have cell transformation-associated activity--are regulated by EBNA3A and EBNA3C. Utilising a variety of EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) carrying knockout-, revertant- or conditional-EBV recombinants, it was possible to demonstrate unambiguously that EBNA3A an...

INTRODUCTION microRNAs (miRs), a novel class of small non-coding RNAs, are involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, development, and death. In this study, we found that miR-221 translocation by microvesicles (MVs) plays an important role in cardioprotection mediated by GATA-4 overexpressed mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). METHODS AND RESULTS Adult rat bone marrow MSC and neonatal rat ven...

Gene therapy, particularly microRNA (miRNA), is a promising candidate in the treatment of cancer; however, it is challenging to develop gene delivery systems. Ultrasound microbubbles have been used for gene delivery with excellent results. The present study aimed to investigate the transfection efficiency of HepG2 cells using ultrasound microbubbles. The effects of three miRNAs (miR-21, miR-221...

Androgen-dependent prostate cancer typically progresses to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) after the androgen deprivation therapy. MicroRNAs (miR) are noncoding small RNAs (19-25nt) that play an important role in the regulation of gene expression. Recent studies have shown that miR expression patterns are significantly different in normal and neoplastic prostate epithelial cells. Ho...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) dysregulation has been shown to play a critical regulatory role in papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs). BRAF mutation is associated with poor clinicopathological outcomes in PTC. In order to identify a possible association between dysregulated miRNA expression and BRAF mutation as well as clinicopathological features in Chinese patients with PTC, we examined the expression le...

A gene encoding a Phe-221-to-Met substitution in the haem enzyme horseradish peroxidase has been constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli. In the wild-type enzyme the side chain of Phe-221 is tightly stacked against the imidazole ring of His-170, which provides the only axial ligand to the haem iron atom. The Phe-221-->Met enzyme is active, and forms characteristic complexes with typical p...