Abstract 5243: MicroRNAs-449a and -449b exhibit tumor suppressive effects in retinoblastoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNAs that act by inhibiting target genes. Specific individual miRNAs have now been identified which have confirmed effects in cancer, and some miRNAs can act as either tumor suppressors or as oncogenes by exerting effects on important regulatory cellular pathways. The purpose of our study is to illustrate the relationship between the expressions of miRs-449a and -449b to retinoblastoma proliferation and apoptosis. We show that there is an inhibitory effect of miRs-449a and -449b in retinoblastoma by demonstrating significantly impaired proliferation and increased apoptosis of tumor cells when these miRNAs are overexpressed. This study suggests that these miRNAs could serve as viable therapeutic targets for retinoblastoma treatment. We also report the utility of combining overexpression of miRs-449a and -449b with broad-based chemotherapy drugs that are currently being used to treat retinoblastoma patients. Citation Format: Aunica A. Jones, Alissa Martin, Paul Bryar, Marilyn Mets, Joanna Weinstein, Gang Zhang, Nikia A. Laurie. MicroRNAs-449a and -449b exhibit tumor suppressive effects in retinoblastoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 5243. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-5243