MicroRNA News and Research

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In genetics, microRNAs (miRNA) are single-stranded RNA molecules of 21-23 nucleotides in length, which regulate gene expression. miRNAs are encoded by genes from whose DNA they are transcribed but miRNAs are not translated into protein (i.e. they are non-coding RNAs); instead each primary transcript (a pri-miRNA) is processed into a short stem-loop structure called a pre-miRNA and finally into a functional miRNA. Mature miRNA molecules are partially complementary to one or more messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules, and their main function is to down-regulate gene expression.

Groundbreaking experimental therapy has ability to suppress ulcerative colitis

UCLA scientists have discovered a groundbreaking experimental therapy that has the ability to suppress the development of ulcerative colitis (UC), a disease which causes inflammation in the digestive tract and colon cancer. The treatment utilizes a chemical inhibitor able to block an RNA molecule (microRNA-214) involved in the transmission of genetic information.

24 Jul 2015

Novel gene therapy control system regulates expression of therapeutic transgenes

Korean researchers have described a novel control system to regulate the expression of a therapeutic transgene by targeting the passenger strand of a microRNA (miR-122) linked to the transgene.

14 Jul 2015

Laser microdissection microscope series with LED for transmitted light launched by Leica Microsystems

Leica Microsystems has launched two instruments of the laser microdissection microscope series, the Leica LMD6 and the LMD7, with LED illumination for transmitted light. Users can now choose between halogen and LED illumination. LEDs are an energy-efficient light source providing homogenous illumination and a constant color temperature.

From Leica Microsystems GmbH 13 Jul 2015

Simple blood test could detect early stages of type 1 diabetes

Scientists at the MRC's Clinical Sciences Centre in West London are the first to show that a small molecule circulates in the blood of people who are in the early stages of type 1 diabetes. A simple blood test could detect this biological marker years, maybe decades, before symptoms develop.

9 Jul 2015

Research shows how prion-like proteins critical for maintaining long-term memories

Research from Eric Kandel's lab at Columbia University Medical Center has uncovered further evidence of a system in the brain that persistently maintains memories for long periods of time. And paradoxically, it works in the same way as mechanisms that cause mad cow disease, kuru, and other degenerative brain diseases.

3 Jul 2015

NDSU researcher awarded $1.35 million research grant to develop targeted treatment for colorectal cancer

A researcher at North Dakota State University, Fargo, is receiving a four-year $1.35 million research project grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health to develop a targeted treatment for colorectal cancer.

2 Jul 2015

TSRI scientists find five different miRNAs involved in memory formation

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found that a type of genetic material called “microRNA” plays surprisingly different roles in the formation of memory in animal models. In some cases, these RNAs increase memory, while others decrease it.

30 Jun 2015

IU researchers find that microRNA-29 may be potent therapeutic target against pancreatic cancer

Indiana University cancer researchers found that a particular microRNA may be a potent therapeutic agent against pancreatic cancer. The research was published June 22 in the journal Scientific Reports.

26 Jun 2015

Molecular classifications of low-grade gliomas proposed

Two research teams have independently proposed molecular classification systems for grade II and III glioma based on three tumour markers, with each category displaying distinct clinical features and outcomes.

12 Jun 2015

Regulus Therapeutics begins RG-012 Phase I clinical study for treatment of Alport syndrome

Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company leading the discovery and development of innovative medicines targeting microRNAs, announced today that dosing has begun in a first-in-human Phase I clinical study of RG-012, a single stranded, chemically modified oligonucleotide that binds to and inhibits the function of microRNA-21 ("miR-21").

4 Jun 2015

Novel strategy shows aptamer-based modular delivery of microRNA in endothelial, breast cancer cells

Researchers have shown that a novel delivery strategy can efficiently introduce a functional microRNA that has anti-cancer and angiogenic activities into two different types of cells--breast cancer cells to inhibit tumor growth and metastasis, and cells that line blood vessels to protect against atherosclerosis.

4 Jun 2015

miR-181b potential biomarker of replication, progression in chronic HBV

A Chinese team reports a correlation between serum levels of microRNA-181b and hepatitis B virus replication and disease progression in patients with chronic HBV infection.

1 Jun 2015

NYU chemists find that microRNA can serve as 'decoder ring' for understanding biological functions

MicroRNA can serve as a "decoder ring" for understanding complex biological processes, a team of New York University chemists has found. Their study, which appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, points to a new method for decrypting the biological functions of enzymes and identifying those that drive diseases.

27 May 2015

Researchers uncover major link between human body clock and immune system

An important link between the human body clock and the immune system has relevance for better understanding inflammatory and infectious diseases, discovered collaborators at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Trinity College, Dublin.

19 May 2015

Alnylam files clinical trial application for alpha-1 liver disease, presents data at DDW

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that it has filed a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) with the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial with ALN-AAT, a subcutaneously administered investigational RNAi therapeutic targeting alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) for the treatment of AAT deficiency-associated liver disease (alpha-1 liver disease).

19 May 2015

MicroRNA News and Research

Further Reading

Groundbreaking experimental therapy has ability to suppress ulcerative colitis

Novel gene therapy control system regulates expression of therapeutic transgenes

Laser microdissection microscope series with LED for transmitted light launched by Leica Microsystems

Simple blood test could detect early stages of type 1 diabetes

Research shows how prion-like proteins critical for maintaining long-term memories

NDSU researcher awarded $1.35 million research grant to develop targeted treatment for colorectal cancer

TSRI scientists find five different miRNAs involved in memory formation

IU researchers find that microRNA-29 may be potent therapeutic target against pancreatic cancer

Molecular classifications of low-grade gliomas proposed

Regulus Therapeutics begins RG-012 Phase I clinical study for treatment of Alport syndrome

Novel strategy shows aptamer-based modular delivery of microRNA in endothelial, breast cancer cells

miR-181b potential biomarker of replication, progression in chronic HBV

NYU chemists find that microRNA can serve as 'decoder ring' for understanding biological functions

Researchers uncover major link between human body clock and immune system

Alnylam files clinical trial application for alpha-1 liver disease, presents data at DDW

Studies support use of ThyraMIR and ThyGenX to improve detection of benign/malignant thyroid nodules

Researchers make major step toward finding target to combat drug-resistant neuroblastoma

Non-coding RNAs in maternal food can pass through placenta to regulate fetal gene expression

New study discovers master switch that drives heart cell maturation process

Walnut-enriched diet may slow colorectal tumor growth

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