MicroRNA-710 regulates multiple pathways of carcinogenesis in murine metastatic breast cancer

Clinical Applications of Short Non-Coding RNA-Based Therapies in the Era of Precision Medicine

Simple Summary

RNA-based drugs are an attractive approach for personalized treatment of cancer and other diseases. This review focuses on two related classes of short non-coding RNA: microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). miRNAs are endogenous short RNAs that bind multiple messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and prevent the production of their gene-products, whereas siRNAs are exogenous RNAs that target a single and specific mRNA for degradation. This review describes the development, challenges, and clinical successes of short RNA-based drugs. We provide several examples of how these RNA drugs are designed, chemically modified and delivered for treatment of different cancer types, cardiovascular disease, and rare genetic disorders. We highlight the similarities, differences, and considerations to maximize the treatment efficacy of miRNA-based vs. siRNA-based drugs.

Abstract

Traditional targeted therapeutic agents have relied on small synthetic molecules or large proteins, such as monoclonal antibodies. These agents leave a lot of therapeutic targets undruggable because of the lack or inaccessibility of active sites and/or pockets in their three-dimensional structure that can be chemically engaged. RNA presents an attractive, transformative opportunity to reach any genetic target with therapeutic intent. RNA therapeutic design is amenable to modularity and tunability and is based on a computational blueprint presented by the genetic code. Here, we will focus on short non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) as a promising therapeutic modality because of their potency and versatility. We review recent progress towards clinical application of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) for single-target therapy and microRNA (miRNA) activity modulators for multi-target therapy. siRNAs derive their potency from the fact that the underlying RNA interference (RNAi) mechanism is catalytic and reliant on post-transcriptional mRNA degradation. Therapeutic siRNAs can be designed against virtually any mRNA sequence in the transcriptome and specifically target a disease-causing mRNA variant. Two main classes of microRNA activity modulators exist to increase (miRNA mimics) or decrease (anti-miRNA inhibitors) the function of a specific microRNA. Since a single microRNA regulates the expression of multiple target genes, a miRNA activity modulator can have a more profound effect on global gene expression and protein output than siRNAs do. Both types of sncRNA-based drugs have been investigated in clinical trials and some siRNAs have already been granted FDA approval for the treatment of genetic, cardiometabolic, and infectious diseases. Here, we detail clinical results using siRNA and miRNA therapeutics and present an outlook for the potential of these sncRNAs in medicine.

MiRNA10b-directed nanotherapy effectively targets brain metastases from breast cancer

RNA interference represents one of the most appealing therapeutic modalities for cancer because of its potency, versatility, and modularity. Because the mechanism is catalytic and affects the expression of disease-causing antigens at the post-transcriptional level, only small amounts of therapeutic need to be delivered to the target in order to exert a robust therapeutic effect. RNA interference is also advantageous over other treatment modalities, such as monoclonal antibodies or small molecules, because it has a much broader array of druggable targets. Finally, the complementarity of the genetic code gives us the opportunity to design RNAi therapeutics using computational, rational approaches. Previously, we developed and tested an RNAi-targeted therapeutic, termed MN-anti-miR10b, which was designed to inhibit the critical driver of metastasis and metastatic colonization, miRNA-10b. We showed in animal models of metastatic breast cancer that MN-anti-miR10b accumulated into tumors and metastases in the lymph nodes, lungs, and bone, following simple intravenous injection. We also found that treatment incorporating MN-anti-miR10b was effective at inhibiting the emergence of metastases and could regress already established metastases in the lymph nodes, lungs, and bone. In the present study, we extend the application of MN-anti-miR10b to a model of breast cancer metastatic to the brain. We demonstrate delivery to the metastatic lesions and obtain evidence of a therapeutic effect manifested as inhibition of metastatic progression. This investigation represents an additional step towards translating similar RNAi-targeted therapeutics for the systemic treatment of metastatic disease.

Oxymatrine inhibits the development of non-small cell lung cancer through miR-367-3p upregulation and target gene SGK3 downregulation

Oxymatrine (OM), an important active ingredient extracted from sophora flavescens, has attracted more attention for its anti-tumor effect in recent years, with pronounced effects on the development of multiple tumors, acting as a potential effective low toxic drug in clinical tumor treatment. In this study, CCK-8 and transwell experiments were applied to detect cell proliferation and migration. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting were used to test the expression of miR-367-3p and serum and glucocorticoid regulated kinase 3 (SGK3). The function of oxymatrine in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progression was also confirmed in vivo. Then, CCK-8 and transwell assays revealed that oxymatrine could repress NSCLC cell migration and proliferation. qRT-PCR showed the striking promotion roles of oxymatrine in cancer suppressor gene miR-367-3p expression. The results of further dual luciferase reporter gene experiment demonstrated that SGK3 was a target gene of miR-367-3p and under the regulation of oxymatrine. The rescue experiments indicated that OM functioned via miR-367-3p, while miR-367-3p exerted its function by action on SGK3. Finally, in vivo studies showed that OM could also inhibit tumor growth. As a result, this study found that OM inhibited the development of NSCLC through reducing the expression of a downstream target gene SGK3 by promoting miR-367-3p expression.