CANCER REPROGRAMMING AND ITS CLINICAL APPLICABILITY

Although cancer is a genetic disease, epigenetic alterations are involved in its initiation and progression. Previous studies showed that the introduction of endogenous small-sized, noncoding ribonucleotides including microRNA200c, -302s, and -369 resulted in the induction of cellular reprogramming. MicroRNA200c inhibits the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. MicroRNA302s induces the demethylation of the tumor suppressor gene promoter region, while microRNA369 changes cancer cell metabolism. These three types of microRNA induce cancer cellular reprogramming and modulate malignant phenotypes of human cancer cells. These results suggest that the appropriate delivery of functional small-sized ribonucleotides may be a novel approach to the treatment of human cancer.