Human genetics influencing cancer growth discovered

According to the study, the RNA from a gene can control or in turn be controlled by any number of RNAs from other genes. The findings may help in concluding how tumors develop and spread and who is more vulnerable to its risks.

Mechanism of action
According to Pier Paolo Pandolfi, MD PhD, director of the Cancer Genetics Program at BIDMC and George C. Reisman, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, “The RNAs talk through a new language. If this language is broken and the RNA network is perturbed, PTEN goes down, and this has devastating consequences.”

“The newly discovered RNA network could explain much of the elusive genetic variation underlying cancer and other diseases”, they added.

RNA shares their language that consists of specific sequences along their strands known as micro RNA response elements (MREs). RNA competes for certain micro RNAs that are matching and once attached these micro RNAs disable their host RNA.

Conclusion
A team in Andrea Califano at Columbia University in New York evaluated glioblastoma RNA and micro RNA expression data from The Cancer Genome Atlas.
From this database, they found a network where more than 500 genes regulate PTEN, a tumor suppressor gene.

“The micro RNA-mediated network layer explains a significant amount of genetic variability in cancer. It allows genes that have nothing to do with the typical oncogene or tumor suppressor to gang up and regulate it.”

“The discovery of this network allows us to discover genes never before associated with a tumor type or disease”, said Califano.