Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 6, 2025

Author Spotlight: Impact of Intergenic Interactions on Disease-Identifying Dark Biomarkers
03:37

Author Spotlight: Impact of Intergenic Interactions on Disease-Identifying Dark Biomarkers

Published on: March 1, 2024

758

The Role of tRNA-Centered Translational Regulatory Mechanisms in Cancer

Yuanjian Shi1,2,3, Yipeng Feng1,2,3, Qinglin Wang1,2,3

  • 1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital & Jiangsu Cancer Hospital & Jiangsu Institute of Cancer Research, Nanjing 211166, China.

Cancers
|January 11, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and their fragments (tRFs) are vital in cancer. Dysregulation of these molecules impacts translation, contributing to tumorigenesis and offering new therapeutic targets for cancer treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Oncology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Cancer remains a major global health challenge with limited understanding of its underlying mechanisms.
  • Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are abundant RNA molecules crucial for genetic information transfer.
  • Dysregulation of tRNAs and their modifications are linked to various diseases, including cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent findings on translational regulatory models involving tRNAs in tumors.
  • To deepen the understanding of tumorigenesis.
  • To identify new therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of recent studies on tRNAs, tRNA modifications, and tRNA fragments (tRFs) in cancer.
  • Analysis of the role of tRNA dysregulation in translation and gene expression.
  • Examination of the impact of tRNA modifications on tRNA stability and cleavage.

Main Results:

  • Dysregulated tRNA synthesis leads to translation disorders and diseases like cancer.
  • tRNA modifications and associated enzymes are implicated in tumor biology.
  • tRNA fragments (tRFs), once considered byproducts, are now recognized as key regulators of RNA stability, translation, and gene expression.
  • Altered tRNA modification impacts tRNA stability, leading to tRF generation.

Conclusions:

  • tRNAs and tRFs play significant roles in cancer development and progression.
  • Understanding tRNA-centered translational regulation in tumors is crucial for advancing cancer research.
  • tRNAs and tRFs represent promising targets for novel cancer therapies.
Keywords:
cancertRNA modificationstRNA-derived fragmentstRNAstranslational regulation

More Related Videos

Intracellular Phosphoflow Cytometry of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patient-Derived Xenotransplants07:39

Intracellular Phosphoflow Cytometry of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patient-Derived Xenotransplants

Published on: June 6, 2025

101
Identification of Transcription Factor Regulators using Medium-Throughput Screening of Arrayed Libraries and a Dual-Luciferase-Based Reporter11:32

Identification of Transcription Factor Regulators using Medium-Throughput Screening of Arrayed Libraries and a Dual-Luciferase-Based Reporter

Published on: March 27, 2020

6.9K

Related Concept Videos

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...
3.8K
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps01:23

Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps

The gene expression in cells is regulated at different stages: (i) transcription, (ii) RNA processing, (iii) RNA localization, and (iv) translation. Transcriptional regulation is mediated by regulatory proteins such as transcription factors, activators, or repressors—these control gene expression by initiating or inhibiting the transcription of genes. Once a precursor or pre-mRNA is produced, it undergoes post-transcriptional modification, including 5' capping, splicing, and the...
913
Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps02:24

Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps

Gene expression can be regulated at almost every step from gene to protein. Transcription is the step that is most commonly regulated. This involves the binding of proteins to short regulatory sequences on the DNA. This association can either promote or inhibit the transcription of a gene associated with the respective sequence.
Transcription results in the generation of precursor (pre-mRNA) that consists of both exons and introns, which needs further processing before being translated to a...
22.7K
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells02:53

Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells

Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
5.8K
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes01:05

Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
7.4K
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...
8.6K