Influence of gut microbiome on multiple myeloma: friend or foe?

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignancy of terminally differentiated plasma cells, which typically evolves over time from its precursor, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. While the underlying mechanisms of this evolution remain elusive, immunomodulatory factors affecting the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment are suspected to play a role. There is an increasing evidence that the gut microbiome exerts an influence on its host's adaptive and innate immune systems, inflammatory pathways and the BM microenvironment.

Identification of Long Non-Coding RNAs Deregulated in Multiple Myeloma Cells Resistant to Proteasome Inhibitors.

While the clinical benefit of proteasome inhibitors (PIs) for multiple myeloma (MM) treatment remains unchallenged, dose-limiting toxicities and the inevitable emergence of drug resistance limit their long-term utility. Disease eradication is compromised by drug resistance that is either present de novo or therapy-induced, which accounts for the majority of tumor relapses and MM-related deaths. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a broad class of RNA molecules, including long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), that do not encode proteins but play a major role in regulating the fundamental cellular processes that control cancer initiation, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance.