Researchers at Texas A&M University have identified two naturally occurring microRNAs that may help regulate protein production in aggressive pancreatic cancer cells. The study, published in Physiological Reports, indicates that increasing levels of miR-15a and miR-16 reduced protein synthesis and slowed the growth of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells.
The research was conducted by scientists at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the College of Education and Human Development. Dr. James Fluckey, associate dean for research and a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management, served as the study’s principal investigator.
Dr. Peter Nghiem, an associate professor in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, also contributed to the work.
Pancreatic cancer cells are characterized by rapid growth and division. To sustain this proliferation, cells must increase processes such as protein synthesis. Fluckey explained that disrupting this synthesis can slow the rate at which cells grow. MicroRNAs are short strands of genetic material that regulate which proteins a cell produces by binding to genetic messages and preventing them from being translated into proteins.
Nghiem compared the role of these microRNAs to the brakes on a car. "Their expression can prevent something very bad from happening — like accelerating to the point where you crash or develop cancer," he said. When levels of miR-15a and miR-16 are reduced, as observed in pancreatic cancer, this braking effect may be diminished.
The team’s goal was to reintroduce these microRNAs to see if they could slow cancer progression.
