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MicroRNAs in Pancreatic Cancer: Potential Interests as Biomarkers and Therapeutic Tools

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MicroRNAs in Cancer Translational Research

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth cause of death by cancer in Western countries. Its poor prognosis is primarily explained by a lack of early diagnostic markers and efficient therapeutic treatments. PDAC does not appear de novo but rather originates of an accumulation of genetic and epigenetic alterations that leads to an aberrant production of diverse molecules such as RNA and proteins. These altered expression profiles result in a multi-step progression of precursor lesions to invasive PDAC. Therefore, a better understanding of the early genetic and epigenetic alterations occurring in PDAC development is valuable for diagnostic and new therapeutic strategies. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous RNA molecules that function as translation inhibitors of messenger RNA by binding to their 3′ untranslated region. These molecules are tightly involved in the regulation of many physiological processes such as development, proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis among others. Their expressions are profoundly altered in PDAC and are strongly involved in PDAC carcinogenesis. In this chapter, we describe the miRNAs for which the expression is altered in PDAC and PDAC pre-neoplastic lesions. We outline the different molecular mechanisms that lead to altered miRNA expression in PDAC cells as well as the signaling pathways affected in response to altered miRNA expression. Lastly, we review the potential interests of miRNA as biological markers and therapeutic tools for PDAC.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr Dina Arvanitis (Centre de Biologie du Développement, Toulouse) for critical reading of the manuscript. J.T. was funded by the Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Inserm U858, I2MR Institut de Médecine Moléculaire de Rangueil, BP 84225, 31 432, Toulouse Cedex 4, France

    Pierre Cordelier

  2. INSERM UMR 1037, Cancer Research Center of Toulouse, Université Paul Sabatier, CHU Rangueil Bat L3, 31432, Toulouse Cedex 4, France

    Jérôme Torrisani

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  1. Pierre Cordelier
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  2. Jérôme Torrisani
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Correspondence to Jérôme Torrisani .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Clinical Oncology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gascoigne Road 30, Hong Kong SAR, China, People's Republic

    William C.S. Cho

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Cordelier, P., Torrisani, J. (2011). MicroRNAs in Pancreatic Cancer: Potential Interests as Biomarkers and Therapeutic Tools. In: Cho, W. (eds) MicroRNAs in Cancer Translational Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0298-1_13

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