No abstract

The expression of miR-203 has been reported to be significantly down-regulated in esophageal cancer. We showed here that overexpression of miR-203 in esophageal cancer cells dramatically increased cell apoptosis and inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion as well as tumor growth and down-regulated miR-21 expression. We subsequently identified that small GTPase Ran was a target gene of miR-203. Furthermore, Ran restoration partially counteracted the tumor suppressive effects of miR-203 and increased miR-21 expression. Taken together, our findings suggest that miR-203 may act as novel tumor suppressor in esophageal cancer through down-regulating the expression of Ran and miR-21.

We report an innovative approach for miRNA-203 delivery in esophageal cancer cells using protamine sulphate (PS)-nanodiamond (ND) nanoparticles. The efficient delivery of miR-203 significantly suppressed the proliferation and migration of cancer cells through targeting Ran and ΔNp63, exhibiting a great potential for PS@ND nanoparticles in miRNA-based cancer therapy.

Metastatic relapse is a leading cause of cancer-associated death and one of the major obstacles for effective therapy against triple-negative breast cancer. To address this problem, a miRNA-delivering nanocapsule technology based on hyaluronic acid (HA)/protamine sulfate (PS) interpolyelectrolyte complexes (HP-IPECs) is developed for efficient encapsulation and intracellular delivery microRNA-34a (miR-34a), which is a potent endogenous tumor suppressor of breast cancer. The nanocapsules are successfully generated through a self-assembly approach mediated by an electrostatic interaction. In vitro and in vivo experiments illustrate that miR-34a can be efficiently encapsulated into HP-IPECs and delivered into breast cancer cells or breast cancer tissues. Nanocomplex-assisted delivery of miR-34a induces cell apoptosis and suppresses migration, proliferation, and tumor growth of breast cancer cells via targeting CD44 and a Notch-1-signaling pathway. The obtained results suggest that HP-IPECs have a great potential as a biodegradable vector for microRNA-based therapy against triple-negative breast cancer.

The construction of nanodiamond-based layer-by-layer nanohybrids.