Screening and Functional Analyses of the MicroRNAs Involved in Cancer Cell Dormancy

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23501268
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Tumor biology
• Research Institution: Kobe University
• Principal Investigator: SHIMONO YOHEI 神戸大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 准教授 (90594630)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: がん休眠 / 乳がん / マイクロＲＮＡ / ＣＸＣＲ４ / がん幹細胞

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Metastatic cancer may emerge more than 10 years after complete remission in human breast cancers. It is considered that these very late relapses are caused by the latent tumor cells that remain dormant in the organs of metastases. In this research, we revealed that the cancer cells in the patient-derived xenografts of human breast cancers are mostly in a G0 phase; the presence of primary cilia is not associated with the cell-cycle arrest; and the downregulation of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 is associated with the cell-cycle arrest. Furthermore, we identified the microRNAs that are preferentially expressed in the cancer cells in the patient-derived xenografts of human breast cancers and revealed a part of the genes and signaling pathways regulated by these microRNAs.

Free Research Field

がん細胞生物学