The regulation of microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis and the role of miRNA binding proteins in breast cancer.

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MicroRNAs are a newly discovered class of molecules that act as genetic regulators within cells. They control processes involved in cell division and cell death, and have important roles in preventing cancer. We have found that estrogen (a major regulator in breast cancer,) causes production of specific microRNAs. These microRNAs down-regulate the activity of the gene that codes for the estrogen receptor-alpha - which performs the functions of estrogen inside cells by stimulating the production of particular proteins called estrogen response elements. This means that there is never too much estrogenic activity and it is controlled, in a unique feedback loop that we have identified. In breast cancer however, the microRNAs are not properly produced, so there is no down-regulation of estrogenic activity, and the breast cancer cells continue to divide. If we can turn this process off, or give patients the microRNAs they don‘t make, we can treat breast cancer and reverse this process. Firstly, we must identify the different types of microRNAs in breast cancer and understand which factors control microRNA production. This would present exciting new possibilities for diagnosis and patient-specific treatments, and may help us to detect hard-to-diagnose cancer and determine how aggressively a cancer might behave.