INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF
CancerGenetics
Emerging Role of CRISPR/Cas9 Technology for Targeting microRNAs in breast cancer
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Pegah Kavousinia,1,*
1. Birjand University of Medical Sciences
- Introduction: Introduction: Breast cancer is an aggressive disease that has a high prevalence in women all over the world. This heterogeneous type of cancer includes many oncogenic pathways and many genetic and epigenetic changes. Currently, the main treatments for breast cancer are radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery. Also, early breast cancer screening is heavily dependent on tissue biopsies, which are invasive and limited. Therefore, in recent years, to improve the results of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, liquid biopsy containing free circulating and exosomal microRNAs(miRNAs) has been increasingly revealed as a potential minimally invasive alternative to tissue biopsy.
- Methods: Methods: Google Scholar and PubMed were used as search engines. Search was performed with the following terms: CRISPR/Cas9 technology, microRNAs, and breast cancer. Finally, 40 related articles were selected and reviewed from studies of the last five years.
- Results: Discussion: MiRNAs are endogenous single-stranded RNAs that pair with the 3′ untranslated region of target mRNAs to regulate mRNA target gene expression. These types of non-coding RNAs are involved in various cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, migration, metabolism, and stress response. MiRNAs are stable under different conditions, including exposure to RNases, multiple thawing and freezing cycles, and extreme pH. This stability has led to identifying these types of circulating RNAs as robust biomarkers in the diagnosis of various cancers. In the past decade, some miRNAs have been used as breast cancer biomarkers for diagnosis (miR-9, miR-10b, and miR-17-5p), prognosis (miR-148a and miR-335), and prediction of treatment outcomes (miR-30c, miR-187 and miR-339-5p) have been used. Targeting miRNA to stimulate or suppress gene expression has a significant impact on the study of cancer biology as a prognostic and therapeutic tool. There is increasing evidence that small non-coding RNAs, including miRNAs, can be targeted by the CRISPR/Cas9 system for loss-of-function assays while lacking an open reading frame. Therefore, CRISPR/Cas9 technology represents a novel gene editing strategy with compelling robustness, specificity, and stability to modulate miRNA expression.
- Conclusion: Conclusion: CRISPR/CAS9 technology is a promising therapeutic approach for miRNA targeting. This technique is a more effective, accurate, and stable method to activate and deactivate miRNA in cancer cells than recent methods. The main advantage of this method is that it integrates the inserted mutation into the genome and transmits it to the next generation. The ability of CRISPR/CAS9 technology to modify the genome has started a new phase in human evolution. This advanced genome editing technology has made it possible to adopt a modern approach to studying the role of different molecules in the development of cancer.
- Keywords: Keywords: CRISPR/Cas9, microRNAs, Breast Cancer
