“Seed-Milarity” Confers to hsa-miR-210 and hsa-miR-147b Similar Functional Activity

Specificity of interaction between a microRNA (miRNA) and its targets crucially depends on the seed region located in its 5′-end. It is often implicitly considered that two miRNAs sharing the same biological activity should display similarity beyond the strict six nucleotide region that forms the seed, in order to form specific complexes with the same mRNA targets. We have found that expression of hsa-miR-147b and hsa-miR-210, though triggered by different stimuli (i.e. lipopolysaccharides and hypoxia, respectively), induce very similar cellular effects in term of proliferation, migration and apoptosis. Hsa-miR-147b only shares a “minimal” 6-nucleotides seed sequence with hsa-miR-210, but is identical with hsa-miR-147a over 20 nucleotides, except for one base located in the seed region. Phenotypic changes induced after heterologous expression of miR-147a strikingly differ from those induced by miR-147b or miR-210. In particular, miR-147a behaves as a potent inhibitor of cell proliferation and migration. These data fit well with the gene expression profiles observed for miR-147b and miR-210, which are very similar, and the gene expression profile of miR-147a, which is distinct from the two others. Bioinformatics analysis of all human miRNA sequences indicates multiple cases of miRNAs from distinct families exhibiting the same kind of similarity that would need to be further characterized in terms of putative functional redundancy. Besides, it implies that functional impact of some miRNAs can be masked by robust expression of miRNAs belonging to distinct families.     

Evolution of the miR-290–295/miR-371–373 Cluster Family Seed Repertoire

Expression of the mouse miR-290–295 cluster and its miR-371–373 homolog in human is restricted to early embryos, primordial germ cells, the germ line stem cell compartment of the adult testis and to stem cell lines derived from the early embryonic lineages. Sequencing data suggest considerable seed diversification between the seven homologous pre-miRNAs of miR-290–295 but it is not clear if all of the implied miR-290–295 seeds are also conserved in the human miR-371–373 cluster, which consists of only three homologous pre-miRNAs. By employing miRNA target reporters we show that most, if not all, seeds in miR-290–295 are represented in miR-371–373. In the mouse, pre-miR-290, pre-miR-292 and pre-miR-293 express subsets of the miRNA isoforms processed from the single human pre-miR-371. Comparison of the possible miR-290–295/miR-371–373 seed repertoires in placental mammals suggests a model for the evolution of this miRNA cluster family, which would be otherwise difficult to deduce based solely on pre-miRNA sequence comparisons. The conservation of co-expressed seeds that is characteristic of miR-290–295/miR-371–373 should be taken into account in models of the corresponding miRNA-target interaction networks.     

Analysis of the accessibility of CLIP bound sites reveals that nucleation of the miRNA:mRNA pairing occurs preferentially at the 3′-end of the seed match

To find out whether the AGO-miRNA complex is more sensitive to the accessibility of a particular region inside the seed match, we analyze in detail the accessibility of a wide set of miRNA binding sites validated by PAR-CLIP and HITS-CLIP experiments. Our analysis reveals that nucleotides at the 3′-end of bound seed matches are significantly more accessible than nucleotides at the 5′-end as well as nucleotides at any positions in the unbound seed matches. We show that the accessibility of a single nucleotide at the 3′-end is more effective than the accessibility of several nucleotides at the 5′-end in discriminating between functional and nonfunctional binding sites. Analysis of mRNA and protein fold changes induced by miRNA overexpression demonstrates that genes with accessible nucleation regions at the 3′-end are down-regulated more strongly than genes whose accessible nucleation regions are located elsewhere within the seed match. We also observed an increase in the precision of the miRNA target prediction algorithm PACMIT when accessibility toward the 3′-end of the seed match was required. The pronounced sensitivity of the AGO–miRNA complex to the accessibility of the 3′-end of the seed match suggests that, in most cases, nucleation occurs in this region. We show that this conclusion is consistent with previous experimental studies.     

Double-stranded microRNA mimics can induce length- and passenger strand–dependent effects in a cell type–specific manner

MicroRNAs are short (17–26) noncoding RNAs driving or modulating physiological and pathological cellular events. Overexpression of miR-155 is pathogenic in B-cell malignancy but was also reported in a number of solid tumors—in particular, in breast cancer, where its role remains unclear and often contradictory. Using representative cell line models, we sought to determine whether the discrepant miR-155 effects in breast cancer could be explained by the heterogeneity of the disease. The growth of six breast cancer cell lines transfected with several miRNA mimics was analyzed. We found MCF-7 cell growth to be inhibited by miR-155 and miR-145 mimics, both 23-nt long, but not by a number of shorter mimics, including a universal commercial negative control. Microarray and Western blot analyses revealed induction of apoptosis, associated with interferon-β after activation of the double-stranded RNA sensor pathway. 3′ Trimming of the miRNA mimics to 21 nt substantially reduced their growth-inhibitory potency. Mutating the canonical seed of the miR-155 mimic had no effect on the induced inhibition, which was abolished by mutating the miRNA seed of the artificial passenger strand. A panel of breast cancer cell lines showed a wide range of sensitivities to 23-mer mimics, broadly consistent with the sensitivity of the cell lines to Poly (I:C). We demonstrate two sources for nonspecific in vitro effects by miRNA mimics: duplex length and the artificial passenger strand. We highlight the danger of a universal 21-mer negative control and the importance of using matched seed mutants for reliable interpretation of phenotypes.     

ErbB2-intronic MicroRNA-4728: a novel tumor suppressor and antagonist of oncogenic MAPK signaling

Although the role of the ErbB2/HER2 oncogene in cancers has been extensively studied, how ErbB2 is regulated remains poorly understood. A novel microRNA, mir-4728, was recently found within an intron of the ErbB2 gene. However, the function and clinical relevance of this intronic miRNA are completely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that mir-4728 is a negative regulator of MAPK signaling through directly targeting the ERK upstream kinase MST4 and exerts numerous tumor-suppressive properties in vitro and in animal models. Importantly, our patient sample study shows that mir-4728 was under-expressed in breast tumors compared with normal tissue, and loss of mir-4728 correlated with worse overall patient survival. These results strongly suggest that mir-4728 is a tumor-suppressive miRNA that controls MAPK signaling through targeting MST4, revealing mir-4728''s significance as a potential prognostic factor and target for therapeutic intervention in cancer. Moreover, this study represents a conceptual advance by providing strong evidence that a tumor-suppressive miRNA can antagonize the canonical signaling of its host oncogene.Breast cancer is a major health problem in the United States, accounting for over 232 000 new diagnoses and nearly 40 000 fatalities in 2013.¹ Deregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been implicated in the progression of breast cancer.² MiRNAs are small, non-coding RNA molecules capable of silencing gene expression by binding with complementary targets to cause translational repression or direct mRNA degradation. Therefore, depending on their target genes, miRNAs can play tumor-suppressive or oncogenic roles.The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 gene (ErbB2/HER2, hereafter called ErbB2), encodes a 185-kDa transmembrane protein that belongs to the epidermal growth factor receptor family.^{3, 4} Through its downstream signaling pathways, such as the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, ErbB2 regulates several important cell functions in cancer development and progression, such as growth, differentiation, and apoptosis.⁵ The ErbB2 gene is amplified or overexpressed in approximately 25% of human breast carcinomas and plays a role in many other human malignancies.^{6, 7}Introns, originally thought to be nonsense spacing elements in gene structure, have received attention in recent years owing to the discovery of important functions for these sequences. However, the mechanisms by which intronic miRNAs regulate oncogenes or tumor-suppressor genes and the roles of intronic miRNAs in cancer development and progression are poorly understood. In 2011, by next-generation sequencing techniques, mir-4728 was found to be encoded within an intron of the ErbB2 gene.⁸ The discovery of mir-4728 within an intron of ErbB2 has led to new questions regarding the regulation of ErbB2 signaling. Therefore, it is important to determine what role this miRNA plays in human cancers.In this study, we investigated the role of mir-4728 in breast cancer and its underlying mechanism. We demonstrated a critical role of mir-4728 in the regulation of MAPK signaling and breast cancer tumorigenesis. Our results indicate that mir-4728 is a novel tumor-suppressive miRNA in breast cancer that can not only potentially serve as a biomarker for breast cancer progression and as a future target for therapeutic intervention, but also represents a novel class of antagonistic intronic miRNAs that has remained elusive to researchers.     

Association analysis of miRNA-related genetic polymorphisms in miR-143/145 and KRAS with colorectal cancer susceptibility and survival

Background: There is accumulating evidence of aberrant expression of miR-143 and miR-145 and their target gene KRAS in colorectal cancer (CRC). We hypothesize that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within or near mRNA–microRNA (miRNA) binding sites may affect miRNA/target gene interaction, resulting in differential mRNA/protein expression and promoting the development and progression of CRC. Methods: We conducted a case–control study of 507 patients with CRC recruited from a tertiary hospital and 497 population-based controls to assess the association of genetic polymorphisms in miR-143/145 and the KRAS 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) with susceptibility to CRC and patients’ survival. In addition, genetic variations of genomic regions located from 500 bp upstream to 500 bp downstream of the miR-143/miR-145 gene and the 3′UTR of KRAS were selected for analysis using the Haploview and HaploReg software. Results: Using publicly available expression profiling data, we found that miR-143/145 and KRAS expression were all reduced in rectal cancer tissue compared with adjacent non-neoplastic large intestinal mucosa. The rs74693964 C/T variant located 65 bp downstream of miR-145 genomic regions was observed to be associated with susceptibility to CRC (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 2.414, 95% CI: 1.385–4.206). Cumulative effects of miR-143 and miR-145 on CRC risk were observed (P_trend=0.03). Patients having CRC carrying variant genotype TT of KRAS rs712 had poorer survival (log-rank P=0.044, adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 4.328, 95% CI: 1.236–15.147). Conclusions: Our results indicate that miRNA-related polymorphisms in miR-143/145 and KRAS are likely to be deleterious and represent potential biomarkers for susceptibility to CRC and patients’ survival.     

Divergent target recognition by coexpressed 5′-isomiRs of miR-142-3p and selective viral mimicry

Sequence heterogeneity at the ends of mature microRNAs (miRNAs) is well documented, but its effects on miRNA function are largely unexplored. Here we studied the impact of miRNA 5′-heterogeneity, which affects the seed region critical for target recognition. Using the example of miR-142-3p, an emerging regulator of the hematopoietic lineage in vertebrates, we show that naturally coexpressed 5′-variants (5′-isomiRs) can recognize largely distinct sets of binding sites. Despite this, both miR-142-3p isomiRs regulate exclusive and shared targets involved in actin dynamics. Thus, 5′-heterogeneity can substantially broaden and enhance regulation of one pathway. Other 5′-isomiRs, in contrast, recognize largely overlapping sets of binding sites. This is exemplified by two herpesviral 5′-isomiRs that selectively mimic one of the miR-142-3p 5′-isomiRs. We hypothesize that other cellular and viral 5′-isomiRs can similarly be grouped into those with divergent or convergent target repertoires, based on 5′-sequence features. Taken together, our results provide a detailed characterization of target recognition by miR-142-3p and its 5′-isomiR-specific viral mimic. We furthermore demonstrate that miRNA 5′-end variation leads to differential targeting and can thus broaden the target range of miRNAs.