Full Description
The aim of this book is to reveal to a large spectrum of audience including biologists and physicians the extent of the microRNAs revolution in the cancer society. Alterations in miRNA genes play a critical role in the pathophysiology of many, perhaps all, human cancer: cancer initiation and progression can involve microRNAs (miRNAs) - small non-coding RNAs that can regulate gene expression. At the present time, the main mechanism of microRNAs alteration in cancer cells seems to be represented by aberrant gene expression, characterized by abnormal levels of expression for mature and/or precursor miRNA sequences in comparison with the corresponding normal tissues. Loss or amplification of miRNA genes has been reported in a variety of cancers and altered patterns of miRNA expression may affect cell cycle and survival programs. Germline and somatic mutations in miRNAs or polymorphisms in the mRNAs targeted by miRNAs may also contribute to cancer predisposition and progression.The causes of the widespread differential expression of miRNA genes between malignant and normal cells can be explained by the genomic location of these genes in cancer-associated genomic regions, by epigenetic mechanisms as well as by alterations of members of the processing machinery. MicroRNAs expression profiling has been exploited to identify miRNAs that are potentially involved in the pathogenesis of human cancers. MicroRNAs profiling achieved by various methods has allowed the identification of signatures associated with diagnosis, staging, progression, prognosis and response to treatment of human tumors.
Contents
PART 1. BASIC CONCEPTS OF MICRO-RNA INVOLVEMENT IN HUMAN CANCERS 1. A MICRORNA PRIMER Victor Ambros, Dartmouth Medical School, Department of Genetics, Hanover, New Hamphsire 03755, USA. OR Ruvkun Gary, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School and Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA. 2. MICRORNAS AND CANCER - AN OVERWIEW Carlo Croce, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Human Cancer Genetics Program and Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics, OSU School of Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. OR Joshua Mendell, The McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Tumor Biology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. or Joshua Mendell , The McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. 5. for Research on Reproduction and Women's Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. OR Peter A Jones, Department of Urology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Schmittgen, College of Pharmacy, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. OR Chang-gong Liu, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, Michael McManus, UCSF Diabetes Center, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, California 94122-0534, USA. OR Hammond SM., Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hatzigeorgiou AG., Center for Bioinformatics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. megraw@mail.med.upenn.edu OR Rajewsky N., Center for Comparative Functional Genomics, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA. 9. ULTRACONSERVED GENES AND MICRORNAS: THE CANCER CONNNECTION George Calin, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Human Cancer Genetics Program and Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics, OSU School of Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, HUMAN CANCERS Stoffel M., Laboratory of Metabolic Diseases, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10021, USA. OR Greg Hannon, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Watson School of Biological Sciences and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 1 Bungtown Road, Cold Spring Harbor, New Center for Cancer Research, NCI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA. OR Takahashi T, Division of Molecular Oncology, Aichi CANCER Massimo Negrini, Department of Experimental and Diagnostic Medicine, Section of Microbiology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy 13. Genetics and Therapeutics, Johns Hopkins University Kimmel Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA. OR Michael Z. Michael, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Flinders Medical Center, Flinders University CANCERS Albert de la Chapelle, Human Cancer Genetics Program, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio OR Charis Eng, Genomic Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, 9500 Euclid Avenue, NE-50, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA. 15. MICRORNAS IN NEUROLOGICAL CANCERS Kenneth Kosik, Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA. OR Farace MG, Department of Experimental Medicine and Biochemical Sciences, University Aldo Scarpa, Department of Pathology, University of Verona, Italy OR David Z. Chang, Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, The University of Texas M.D. Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin Medical School, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706 OR Anke van den Berg, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Groningen University Medical Center, The Microbiology and Immunology, Baxter Laboratory of Genetic Pharmacology, Institute for Cancer/Stem Cell Biology and Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif, USA. OR Michael Andreef, Section of Molecular Hematology and Therapy, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030-4095, USA.
