Serpine1 mRNA confers mesenchymal characteristics to the cell and promotes CD8+ T cells exclusion from colon adenocarcinomas.

Serine protease inhibitor clade E member 1 (SERPINE1) inhibits extracellular matrix proteolysis and cell detachment. However, SERPINE1 expression also promotes tumor progression and plays a crucial role in metastasis. Here, we solve this apparent paradox and report that Serpine1 mRNA per se, independent of its protein-coding function, confers mesenchymal properties to the cell, promoting migration, invasiveness, and resistance to anoikis and increasing glycolytic activity by sequestering miRNAs.

TGF-β-Upregulated Acts as a Reservoir of miR-181 and Mediates Assembly of a Glycolytic Complex.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as key regulators in a wide range of biological processes. Here, we identified a mouse miRNA-host gene lncRNA () upregulated early during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). We show that when lncRNA is processed, it gives rise to two abundant polyadenylated isoforms, and , and a longer non-polyadenylated microprocessor-driven lnc-pri-miRNA containing clustered pre-miR-181a2 and pre-miR-181b2 hairpins.