Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Genome-wide Screen for miRNA Targets Using the MISSION Target ID Library
08:40

Genome-wide Screen for miRNA Targets Using the MISSION Target ID Library

Published on: April 6, 2012

17.7K

MicroRNA-139, an Emerging Gate-Keeper in Various Types of Cancer

Christiaan J Stavast1, Iris van Zuijen1, Stefan J Erkeland1

  • 1Department of Immunology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Cells
|March 10, 2022
PubMed

Insights

MicroRNA 139 (MIR139) functions as a tumor suppressor by regulating stress responses and oncogenic pathways. Silencing of MIR139 in cancers is linked to various mechanisms, and its reactivation inhibits tumor growth.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Gene Regulation

Background:

  • MicroRNA 139 (MIR139) is frequently silenced in various solid and hematological cancers.
  • MIR139 acts as a crucial tumor suppressor by modulating cellular stress responses and inhibiting oncogenic signaling pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the multifaceted roles of MIR139 as a tumor suppressor.
  • To provide an overview of the transcriptional mechanisms regulating MIR139 expression under oncogenic stress across different cancer types.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review focusing on MIR139 expression, silencing mechanisms, and tumor-suppressive functions.
  • Analysis of recent findings on epigenetic silencing, transcriptional inhibition, competing RNAs, and post-transcriptional regulation of MIR139.

Main Results:

  • Multiple mechanisms contribute to MIR139 silencing in tumor cells, including epigenetic alterations and transcriptional/post-transcriptional repression.
  • These silencing mechanisms appear to be common across diverse cancer types.
  • Reactivation of MIR139 in cancer cells leads to suppressed tumor cell proliferation and induced apoptosis via targeting oncogenic mRNAs.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding the regulation and tumor-suppressive activities of MIR139 offers potential for novel cancer therapeutic strategies.
  • MIR139's role as a tumor suppressor is conserved across various cancers, highlighting its significance in oncogenesis.
Keywords:
MIR139cancermicroRNAstranscriptional regulationtumor suppressor

More Related Videos

Analysis of Combinatorial miRNA Treatments to Regulate Cell Cycle and Angiogenesis11:44

Analysis of Combinatorial miRNA Treatments to Regulate Cell Cycle and Angiogenesis

Published on: March 30, 2019

7.7K
CRISPR Gene Editing Tool for MicroRNA Cluster Network Analysis10:40

CRISPR Gene Editing Tool for MicroRNA Cluster Network Analysis

Published on: April 25, 2022

2.5K

Related Concept Videos

MicroRNAs01:22

MicroRNAs

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns (non-coding regions of a gene) or intergenic regions (stretches of DNA present between genes). Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself, forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA...
3.2K
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
3.9K
Experimental RNAi02:15

Experimental RNAi

RNA interference (RNAi) is a cellular mechanism that inhibits gene expression by suppressing its transcription or activating the RNA degradation process. The mechanism was discovered by Andrew Fire and Craig Mello in 1998 in plants. Today, it is observed in almost all eukaryotes, including protozoa, flies, nematodes, insects, parasites, and mammals. This precise cellular mechanism of gene silencing has been developed into a technique that provides an efficient way to identify and determine the...
6.3K
lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs02:39

lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs

In humans, more than 80% of the genome gets transcribed. However, only around 2% of the genome codes for proteins. The remaining part produces non-coding RNAs which includes ribosomal RNAs, transfer RNAs, telomerase RNAs, and regulatory RNAs, among other types. A large number of regulatory non-coding RNAs have been classified into two groups depending upon their length – small non-coding RNAs, such as microRNA, which are less than 200 nucleotides in length, and long non-coding RNA...
9.0K
RNA Interference01:23

RNA Interference

RNA interference (RNAi) is a process in which a small non-coding RNA molecule blocks the post-transcriptional expression of a gene by binding to its messenger RNA (mRNA) and preventing the protein from being translated.
This process occurs naturally in cells, often through the activity of genomically-encoded microRNAs. Researchers can take advantage of this mechanism by introducing synthetic RNAs to deactivate specific genes for research or therapeutic purposes. For example, RNAi could be used...
26.5K
siRNA - Small Interfering RNAs02:30

siRNA - Small Interfering RNAs

Small interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, are short regulatory RNA molecules that can silence genes post-transcriptionally, as well as the transcriptional level in some cases. siRNAs are important for protecting cells against viral infections and silencing transposable genetic elements.
In the cytoplasm, siRNA is processed from a double-stranded RNA, which comes from either endogenous DNA transcription or exogenous sources like a virus. This double-stranded RNA is then cleaved by the...
17.1K