Australian microRNA drug firm MiReven announced this week the publication of in vitro data validating the role of miR-7-5p in cancer.
The findings, which appeared in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications and were authored by a company co-founder, showed that the miRNA was reduced in metastatic melanoma-derived cell lines compared with primary melanoma cells.
Upon re-introduction of the miRNA and its ectopic expression, “migration and invasion of the melanoma cells was significantly inhibited in vitro,” the company said. The report also demonstrated that insulin receptor substrate-2 is a functional target of miR-7-5p, which then “decreases activity in the protein kinase B signaling pathway, a key regulator of many oncogenic processes including cell migration.”
MiReven is currently developing a miR-7 mimic as a treatment for cancer.