Thyroid transcription factor 1 enhances cellular statin sensitivity via perturbing cholesterol metabolism.

We have discovered an unexpected connection between a critical lung development and cancer gene termed thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1 also known as NKX2-1) and cholesterol metabolism. Our published work implicates that TTF-1 positively regulates miR-33a which is known to repress ATP-binding cassette transporter 1 (ABCA1) and thus its cholesterol efflux activity. We set out to demonstrate that a higher TTF-1 expression would presumably inhibit cholesterol efflux and consequently raise intracellular cholesterol level.

Characterization and Evidence of the miR-888 Cluster as a Novel Cancer Network in Prostate.

Prostate cancer afflicts 1 in 7 men and is the second leading cause of male cancer-related deaths in the United States. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), an extensive class of approximately 22 nucleotide noncoding RNAs, are often aberrantly expressed in tissues and fluids from prostate cancer patients, but the mechanisms of how specific miRNAs regulate prostate tumorigenesis and metastasis are poorly understood. Here, miR-888 was identified as a novel prostate factor that promotes proliferation and migration.