title: The p53/miR-34 axis in development and disease.
abstract: The tumor suppressor p53 is one of the most frequently mutated genes in human cancers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-protein coding RNAs that regulate gene expression on the post-transcriptional level. Recently, it was shown that p53 regulates the expression of several miRNAs, thereby representing an important mechanism of p53 signaling. Several independent studies identified the members of the miR-34 family as the most prevalent p53-induced miRNAs. miR-34s are frequently silenced in variety of tumor entities, suggesting that they are important tumor suppressors. Indeed, ectopic expression of miR-34s inhibits proliferation, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, migration, invasion, and metastasis of various cancer cell entities. Moreover, delivery or re-expression of miR-34 leads to notable repression of tumor growth and metastasis in cancer mouse models, and may therefore represent an efficient strategy for future cancer therapeutics. Besides their crucial functions in cancer, members of the miR-34 family also play important roles in spermatogenesis, stem cell differentiation, neuronal development, aging, and cardiovascular functions. Consequently, miR-34 has also been implicated in various non-cancerous diseases, such as brain disorders, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular complications.
authors.affiliation: Experimental and Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80337 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Matjaz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rokavec
authors.affiliation: Experimental and Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80337 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Huihui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Experimental and Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80337 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Longchang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Experimental and Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80337 Munich, Germany German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany heiko.hermeking@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Heiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hermeking
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics*; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
keywords: cancer; metastasis; miR-34; miR-34a; miR-34b/c; p53; tumor suppression