Breast cancer (BC) remains a significant global health issue, necessitating advanced molecular approaches for early detection and prevention. This review delves into the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) in BC, highlighting their potential as non-invasive biomarkers. Utilizing in silico tools and databases, we propose a novel methodology to establish mRNA/circRNA/miRNA axes possibly indicative of early detection and possible prevention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough the miR-183/182/96 cluster is overexpressed in breast cancer (BC), little is known about its role in the development of pre-carcinogenic lesions which harbor disrupted adherens junctions (AJ) and may promote BC. Here, we used microRNA and RNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Breast Cancer project to investigate the relationship between the miR-183/182/96 cluster and AJ signaling in early-stage BC. We found that all members of the cluster are significantly overexpressed in early-stage BC, the AJ signaling pathway is enriched for genes down-regulated in early-stage BC, and the AJ signaling pathway is enriched for experimentally validated targets of the miR-183/182/96 cluster.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChildren's dietary habits are influenced by complex factors within their home, school and neighborhood environments. Identifying such influencers and assessing their effects is traditionally based on self-reported data which can be prone to recall bias. We developed a culturally acceptable machine-learning-based data-collection system to objectively capture school-children's exposure to food (including food items, food advertisements, and food outlets) in two urban Arab centers: Greater Beirut, in Lebanon, and Greater Tunis, in Tunisia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFmicroRNAs (miRNAs) serve as novel noninvasive cancer biomarkers. In an HMT-3522 S1 (S1) breast epithelial risk-progression three-dimensional (3D) culture model, non-neoplastic S1 cells form a fully polarized epithelium. When silenced for the gap junction and tumor suppressor Cx43, Cx43-KO-S1 cells recapitulate pre-neoplastic phenotypes observed in tissues at risk for breast cancer in vivo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBreast cancer has the highest cancer incidence rate in women worldwide. Therapies for breast cancer have shown high success rates, yet many cases of recurrence and drug resistance are still reported. Developing innovative strategies for studying breast cancer may improve therapeutic outcomes of the disease by providing better insight into the associated molecular mechanisms.
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