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Dual CRISPR-Interference Strategy for Targeting Synthetic Lethal Interactions Between Non-Coding RNAs in Cancer Cells
Published on: May 30, 2025
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Cancer quiescence: non-coding RNAs in the spotlight
Konstantinos Soureas1, Maria-Alexandra Papadimitriou2, Konstantina Panoutsopoulou2
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece; Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry - Molecular Diagnostics, Second Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 'P. & A. Kyriakou' Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Trends in Molecular Medicine
|July 29, 2023
Summary
Cancer cells can enter a dormant state called quiescence to survive harsh conditions. Regulatory non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) control this process, offering new therapeutic targets for cancer treatment.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Cancer quiescence is a reversible dormant state enabling cancer cell survival under stress.
- Quiescent cancer cells can re-enter the cell cycle, driving tumor progression and metastasis.
- Regulatory non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are increasingly recognized for their role in cancer quiescence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize the role of ncRNAs in regulating cancer quiescence.
- To explore the impact of ncRNAs on treatment resistance.
- To highlight the potential of ncRNAs in developing novel cancer therapeutics.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent studies on ncRNAs and cancer quiescence.
- Analysis of ncRNA networks involved in quiescence-proliferation balance.
- Discussion of therapeutic implications of ncRNA research.
Main Results:
- ncRNAs dynamically regulate the transition between cancer quiescence and proliferation.
- Dysregulation of ncRNAs contributes to therapeutic resistance in cancer.
- Specific ncRNA networks are implicated in maintaining cancer cell dormancy.
Conclusions:
- ncRNAs are critical regulators of cancer quiescence and its associated treatment resistance.
- Understanding ncRNA networks offers a promising avenue for innovative cancer therapies.
- Targeting ncRNAs may help overcome dormancy-induced therapeutic failure and metastasis.
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