Evolution of vault RNAs.

Vault RNAs (vtRNAs) are small, about 100 nt long, polymerase III transcripts contained in the vault particles of eukaryotic cells. Presumably due to their enigmatic function, they have received little attention compared with most other noncoding RNA (ncRNA) families. Their poor sequence conservation makes homology search a complex and tedious task even within vertebrates.

Interleukin-6 dependent survival of multiple myeloma cells involves the Stat3-mediated induction of microRNA-21 through a highly conserved enhancer.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) is implicated in the pathogenesis of many malignancies and essential for IL-6-dependent survival and growth of multiple myeloma cells. Here, we demonstrate that the gene encoding oncogenic microRNA-21 (miR-21) is controlled by an upstream enhancer containing 2 Stat3 binding sites strictly conserved since the first observed evolutionary appearance of miR-21 and Stat3. MiR-21 induction by IL-6 was strictly Stat3 dependent.

FISH--a new noninvasive method for the diagnosis of urinary bladder carcinomas.

Urinary bladder carcinoma is one of the most frequent malignant tumour diseases. The frequency increases with advancing age. The knowledge increase about genetic changes in tumour cells opens the possibility of a new noninvasive diagnosis with the help of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).