Stromal expression of miR-143/145 promotes neoangiogenesis in lung cancer development
Menée à l'aide de modèles murins d'adénocarcinome du poumon, cette étude met en évidence des mécanismes par lesquels l'expression des micro-ARNs miR-146/145 dans le micro-environnement favorise la croissance tumorale, ce qui incite à la prudence dans l'usage de ces micro-ARNs comme agents thérapeutiques
The two unrelated miRNAs, miR-143 and miR-145, co-expressed from the miR-143/145 cluster have been proposed to act as tumor suppressors in human cancer and therapeutic benefits of delivering miR-143 and miR-145 to tumors have been reported. In contrast, we found that tumor-specific deletion of miR-143/145 in an autochthonous mouse model of lung adenocarcinoma did not affect tumor development. This was consistent with the lack of endogenous miR-143/145 expression in normal and transformed lung epithelium. Surprisingly, miR-143/145 in the tumor microenvironment dramatically promoted tumor growth by stimulating the proliferation of endothelial cells. Loss of miR-143/145 in vivo led to derepression of the miR-145 target Camk1d, an inhibitory kinase, which when overexpressed prevents mitotic entry of endothelial cells. As a consequence, tumors in miR-143/145-deficient animals exhibited diminished neoangiogenesis, increased apoptosis and their expansion was limited by the tumor's ability to co-opt the alveolar vasculature. These findings demonstrate that stromal miR-143/145 promotes tumorigenesis and cautions against the use of these miRNAs as agents in cancer therapeutics.