miR-448-3p controls intracranial aneurysm by regulating KLF5 expression

The SNHG12/microRNA-15b-5p/MYLK axis regulates vascular smooth muscle cell phenotype to affect intracranial aneurysm formation

OBJECTIVE

This research was dedicated to investigating the impact of the SNHG12/microRNA (miR)-15b-5p/MYLK axis on the modulation of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotype and the formation of intracranial aneurysm (IA).

METHODS

SNHG12, miR-15b-5p and MYLK expression in IA tissue samples from IA patients were tested by RT-qPCR and western blot. Human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) were cultivated with H2O2 to mimic IA-like conditions in vitro, and the cell proliferation and apoptosis were measured by MTT assay and Annexin V/PI staining. IA mouse models were established by induction with systemic hypertension combined with elastase injection. The blood pressure in the tail artery of mice in each group was assessed and the pathological changes in arterial tissues were observed by HE staining and TUNEL staining. The expression of TNF-α and IL-1β, MCP-1, iNOS, caspase-3, and caspase-9 in the arterial tissues were tested by RT-qPCR and ELISA. The relationship among SNHG12, miR-15b-5p and MYLK was verified by bioinformatics, RIP, RNA pull-down, and luciferase reporter assays.

RESULTS

The expression levels of MYLK and SNHG12 were down-regulated and that of miR-15b-5p was up-regulated in IA tissues and H2O2-treated human aortic VSMCs. Overexpressed MYLK or SNHG12 mitigated the decrease in proliferation and increase in apoptosis of VSMCs caused by H2O2 induction, and overexpression of miR-15b-5p exacerbated the decrease in proliferation and increase in apoptosis of VSMCs caused by H2O2 induction. Overexpression of miR-15b-5p reversed the H2O2-treated VSMC phenotypic changes caused by SNHG12 up-regulation, and overexpression of MYLK reversed the H2O2-treated VSMC phenotypic changes caused by up-regulation of miR-15b-5p. Overexpression of SNHG12 reduced blood pressure and ameliorated arterial histopathological damage and VSMC apoptosis in IA mice. The mechanical analysis uncovered that SNHG12 acted as an endogenous RNA that competed with miR-15b-5p, thus modulating the suppression of its endogenous target, MYLK.

CONCLUSION

Decreased expression of SNHG12 in IA may contribute to the increasing VSMC apoptosis via increasing miR-15b-5p expression and subsequently decreasing MYLK expression. These findings provide potential new strategies for the clinical treatment of IA.

Vascular smooth muscle cells in intracranial aneurysms

Intracranial aneurysm (IA) is a severe cerebrovascular disease characterized by abnormal bulging of cerebral vessels that may rupture and cause a stroke. The expansion of the aneurysm accompanies by the remodeling of vascular matrix. It is well-known that vascular remodeling is a process of synthesis and degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM), which is highly dependent on the phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). The phenotypic switching of VSMC is considered to be bidirectional, including the physiological contractile phenotype and alternative synthetic phenotype in response to injury. There is increasing evidence indicating that VSMCs have the ability to switch to various phenotypes, including pro-inflammatory, macrophagic, osteogenic, foamy and mesenchymal phenotypes. Although the mechanisms of VSMC phenotype switching are still being explored, it is becoming clear that phenotype switching of VSMCs plays an essential role in IA formation, progression, and rupture. This review summarized the various phenotypes and functions of VSMCs associated with IA pathology. The possible influencing factors and potential molecular mechanisms of the VSMC phenotype switching were further discussed. Understanding how phenotype switching of VSMC contributed to the pathogenesis of unruptured IAs can bring new preventative and therapeutic strategies for IA.

Krüppel-like factor (KLF)5: An emerging foe of cardiovascular health

Krüppel-like factors (KLFs) are DNA-binding transcriptional factors, which regulate various pathways that pertain to development, metabolism and other cellular mechanisms. KLF5 was first cloned in 1993 and by 1999, it was reported as the intestinal-enriched KLF. Beyond findings that have associated KLF5 with normal development and cancer, it has been associated with various types of cardiovascular (CV) complications and regulation of metabolic pathways in the liver, heart, adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. Specifically, increased KLF5 expression has been linked with cardiomyopathy in diabetes, end-stage heart failure, and as well as in vascular atherosclerotic lesions. In this review article, we summarize research findings about transcriptional, post-transcriptional and post-translational regulation of KLF5, as well as the role of KLF5 in the biology of cells and organs that affect cardiovascular health either directly or indirectly. Finally, we propose KLF5 inhibition as an emerging approach for cardiovascular therapeutics.

Uncovering of Key Pathways and miRNAs for Intracranial Aneurysm Based on Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis

BACKGROUND

Intracranial aneurysm (IA) is a serious cerebrovascular disease. The identification of key regulatory genes can provide research directions for early diagnosis and treatment of IA.

METHODS

Initially, the miRNA and mRNA data were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Subsequently, the limma package in R was used to screen for differentially expressed genes. In order to investigate the function of the differentially expressed genes, a functional enrichment analysis was performed. Moreover, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to identify the hub module and hub miRNAs. The correlations between miRNAs and mRNAs were assessed by constructing miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks. In addition, in vitro validation was performed. Finally, diagnostic analysis and electronic expression verification were performed on the GSE122897 dataset.

RESULTS

In the present study, 955 differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs, 480 with increased and 475 with decreased expression) and 46 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs, 36 with increased and 10 with decreased expression) were identified. WGCNA demonstrated that the yellow module was the hub module. Moreover, 16 hub miRNAs were identified. A total of 1,124 negatively regulated miRNA-mRNA relationship pairs were identified. Functional analysis demonstrated that DEmRNAs in the targeted network were enriched in vascular smooth muscle contraction and focal adhesion pathways. In addition, the area under the curve of 16 hub miRNAs was >0.8. It is implied that 16 hub miRNAs may be used as potential diagnostic biomarkers of IA.

CONCLUSION

Hub miRNAs and key signaling pathways were identified by bioinformatics analysis. This evidence lays the foundation for understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms of IA and provided potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of this disease.

Long non-coding RNA NORAD induces phenotypic regulation of vascular smooth muscle cells through regulating microRNA-136-5p-targeted KDM1A

OBJECTIVE

Effect of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) on intracranial aneurysm (IA) development has been identified, while the role of noncoding RNA activated by DNA damage (NORAD) in IA remains unexplored. We aimed to verify the impact of NORAD on IA through sponging microRNA-136-5p (miR-136-5p).

METHODS

Ruptured and unruptured IAs were harvested from IA patients, and expression of NORAD, miR-136-5p, and KDM1A was determined. The vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) were cultured and, respectively, transfected with altered NORAD, miR-136-5p, or lysine-specific demethylase 1 (KDM1A) to observe their effect on biological functions, as well as on contraction and synthesis-specific indices of VSMCs. Interactions between NORAD and miR-136-5p, and between miR-136-5p and KDM1A were confirmed.

RESULTS

NORAD and KDM1A were upregulated while miR-136-5p was downregulated in IA, especially in ruptured IA. NORAD overexpression or miR-136-5p inhibition accelerated proliferation and migration, and decelerated phenotypic switching and apoptosis of VSMCs. The effects of overexpressed NORAD on VSMCs were reserved by miR-136-5p upregulation or KDM1A knockdown. NORAD functioned as a competing endogenous RNA of miR-136-5p and miR-136-5p targeted KDM1A.

CONCLUSION

NORAD suppressed miR-136-5p, thus upregulating KDM1A to participate in IA formation and rupture by inducing phenotypic regulation of VSMCs.

SMILR Aggravates the Progression of Atherosclerosis by Sponging miR-10b-3p to Regulate KLF5 Expression

Over the past few decades, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been widely accepted to be involved in various diseases, and smooth muscle enriched long noncoding RNA (SMILR) was reported to participate in the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms of SMILR in atherosclerosis (AS) have not been fully explored. In this study, VSMCs and human mononuclear cells (U937) treated with oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) were used as cell models of AS. We found that the expression of SMILR was upregulated in the serum of AS patients and ox-LDL-induced AS cell models. SMILR knockdown inhibited cell proliferation while increasing cell apoptosis in the AS cell models. In addition, SMILR acted as a sponge for miR-10b-3p, and miR-10b-3p counteracted SMILR-mediated regulation of AS. Moreover, we confirmed that miR-10b-3p could bind with KLF5, and SMILR regulated KLF5 expression by competitively binding miR-10b-3p. Furthermore, miR-10b-3p modulated cell proliferation and apoptosis in AS by targeting KLF5. Finally, miR-10b-3p regulated AS progression in vivo by targeting KLF5. Overall, our study demonstrated that SMILR participated in the progression of AS by targeting the miR-10b-3p/KLF5 axis, which may provide some clues for future studies of AS.

CircRNA DOCK1 Regulates miR-409-3p/MCL1 Axis to Modulate Proliferation and Apoptosis of Human Brain Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Background

Intracranial aneurysm is an abnormal expansion in the intracranial arteries, which is associated with growth and apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have implicated in the progression of intracranial aneurysms. The purpose of this paper is to study the function and mechanism of circRNA dedicator of cytokinesis 1 (circ_DOCK1) in regulating proliferation and apoptosis of human brain vascular smooth muscle cells (HBVSMCs).

Methods

HBVSMCs were exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and flow cytometry, respectively. Circ_DOCK1, microRNA (miR)-409-3p, and myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 (MCL1) levels were examined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or western blotting. The target association was assessed by dual-luciferase reporter, RNA pull-down, and RNA immunoprecipitation assays.

Results

Exposure to H₂O₂ decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis of HBVSMCs. Circ_DOCK1 expression was reduced in H₂O₂-treated HBVSMCs. Circ_DOCK1 overexpression rescued H₂O₂-caused reduction of proliferation and PCNA expression and attenuated H₂O₂-induced apoptosis and expression of Bcl-2, Bax, and cleaved PARP. MiR-409-3p was targeted by circ_DOCK1 and upregulated in H₂O₂-treated HBVSMCs. MiR-409-3p upregulation mitigated the role of circ_DOCK1 in proliferation and apoptosis of H₂O₂-treated HBVSMCs. MCL1 was targeted via miR-409-3p and downregulated via H₂O₂ treatment. Circ_DOCK1 overexpression enhanced MCL1 expression via modulating miR-409-3p. MiR-409-3p knockdown weakened H₂O₂-induced proliferation reduction and apoptosis promotion via regulating MCL1.

Conclusion

Circ_DOCK1 overexpression mitigated H₂O₂-caused proliferation inhibition and apoptosis promotion in HBVSMCs by modulating miR-409-3p/MCL1 axis.

Non-Coding RNAs as Circulating Biomarkers for the Diagnosis of Intracranial Aneurysm: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Early diagnosis of intracranial aneurysm (IA) is arduous in the current situation, and no biomarker is available for the screening of IA. We here systematically evaluate the diagnostic value of circulating non-coding RNA (ncRNA) for the diagnosis of IA.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus and Cochrane Library databases from inception to June 2020. We included studies that investigated the diagnostic performance of circulating ncRNAs for the diagnosis of IA. We performed Random-effect meta-analyses for the diagnostic test accuracy to calculate pooled estimates. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were conducted to explore the source of heterogeneity.

RESULTS

Thirteen studies, including 1,105 patients and 28 ncRNAs, were included. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.80 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76-0.83) and 0.80 (95% CI, 0.76-0.84), respectively, and the area under the hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.87 (95% CI, 0.84-0.89). The pooled positive and negative likelihood ratios were 3.97 (95% CI, 3.17-4.98) and 0.25 (95% CI, 0.21-0.31), corresponding with a diagnostic odds ratio of 15.63 (95% CI, 10.41-23.47). Subgroup analyses revealed that the diagnostic accuracy of miRNA, lncRNA and circRNA were not significantly different (p > 0.05). Circulating ncRNAs showed higher diagnostic accuracy for patients with unruptured IA than those with ruptured IA (p = 0.0122).

CONCLUSION

Current evidence suggests that the circulating ncRNA test could be an effective method for universal IA screening. Future clinical studies need to confirm the diagnostic role of specific ncRNAs.

Roles of Krüppel-like factor 5 in kidney disease

Transcription factor Krüppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) is a member of the Krüppel-like factors' (KLFs) family. KLF5 regulates a number of cellular functions, such as apoptosis, proliferation and differentiation. Therefore, KLF5 can play a role in many diseases, including, cancer, cardiovascular disease and gastrointestinal disorders. An important role for KLF5 in the kidney was recently reported, such that KLF5 regulated podocyte apoptosis, renal cell proliferation, tubulointerstitial inflammation and renal fibrosis. In this review, we have summarized the available information in the literature with a brief description on how transcriptional, post-transcriptional and post-translational modifications of KLF5 modulate its function in a variety of organs including the kidney with a focus of its importance on the pathogenesis of various kidney diseases. Furthermore, we also have outlined the current and possible mechanisms of KLF5 activation in kidney diseases. These studies suggest a need for more systemic investigations, particularly for generation of animal models with renal cell-specific deletion or overexpression of KLF5 gene to examine direct contributions of KLF5 to various kidney diseases. This will promote further experimentation in the development of therapies to prevent or treat various kidney diseases.

Endogenous animal models of intracranial aneurysm development: a review

The pathogenesis and natural history of intracranial aneurysm (IA) remains poorly understood. To this end, animal models with induced cerebral vessel lesions mimicking human aneurysms have provided the ability to greatly expand our understanding. In this review, we comprehensively searched the published literature to identify studies that endogenously induced IA formation in animals. Studies that constructed aneurysms (i.e., by surgically creating a sac) were excluded. From the eligible studies, we reported information including the animal species, method for aneurysm induction, aneurysm definitions, evaluation methods, aneurysm characteristics, formation rate, rupture rate, and time course. Between 1960 and 2019, 174 articles reported endogenous animal models of IA. The majority used flow modification, hypertension, and vessel wall weakening (i.e., elastase treatment) to induce IAs, primarily in rats and mice. Most studies utilized subjective or qualitative descriptions to define experimental aneurysms and histology to study them. In general, experimental IAs resembled the pathobiology of the human disease in terms of internal elastic lamina loss, medial layer degradation, and inflammatory cell infiltration. After the early 2000s, many endogenous animal models of IA began to incorporate state-of-the-art technology, such as gene expression profiling and 9.4-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in vivo imaging, to quantitatively analyze the biological mechanisms of IA. Future studies aimed at longitudinally assessing IA pathobiology in models that incorporate aneurysm growth will likely have the largest impact on our understanding of the disease. We believe this will be aided by high-resolution, small animal, survival imaging, in situ live-cell imaging, and next-generation omics technology.

Current knowledge of Krüppel-like factor 5 and vascular remodeling: providing insights for therapeutic strategies

Vascular remodeling is a pathological basis of various disorders. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the occurrence, prevention, and treatment of vascular remodeling. Krüppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) has been identified as a significant factor in cardiovascular diseases during the last two decades. This review provides a mechanism network of function and regulation of KLF5 in vascular remodeling based on newly published data and gives a summary of its potential therapeutic applications. KLF5 modulates numerous biological processes, which play essential parts in the development of vascular remodeling, such as cell proliferation, phenotype switch, extracellular matrix deposition, inflammation, and angiogenesis by altering downstream genes and signaling pathways. Considering its essential functions, KLF5 could be developed as a potent therapeutic target in vascular disorders.

Roles of inflammation in the natural history of intracranial saccular aneurysms

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is caused by intracranial aneurysm (IA) rupture and results in high rates of mortality and morbidity. Factors contributing to IA generation, growth and rupture can involve genetics, injury, hemodynamics, environmental factors, and inflammation, in which inflammatory factors are believed to play central roles in the whole natural history. Inflammatory reactions that contribute to IA development may involve synthesis of many functional proteins and expression of genes induced by changes of blood flow, external stimuli such as smoking, internal balance such as hormonal status changes, and blood pressure. Meanwhile, inflammatory reactions itself can evoke inflammatory cytokines release and aggregation such as MMPs, MCP-1, TNF-α and ZO-1, directly or indirectly promoting aneurysm growth and rupture. However, the details of these inflammatory reactions and their action on inflammatory chemokines are still unknown. Moreover, some agents with the function of anti-inflammation, lipid-lowering, antihypertension or inflammatory factor inhibition may have the potential benefit to reduce the risk of aneurysm development or rupture in a group of population despite the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Consequently, we reviewed the potential inflammatory responses and their mechanisms contributing to aneurysm development and rupture and sought intervention targets that may prevent IA rupture or generation.

Diagnostic and prognostic potential of circulating miRNAs for intracranial aneurysms

Intracranial aneurysm (IA) is an abnormal focal dilation of an artery in the brain that results from a weakening of the inner muscular layer of a blood vessel wall. IAs represent the most common etiology of nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Despite technological advances in the treatment and use of new diagnostic methods for IAs, they continue to pose a significant risk of mortality and disability. Thus, early recognition of IA with a high risk of rupture is crucial for the stratification of patients with such a formidable disease. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are endogenous noncoding RNAs of 18-22 nucleotides that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level through interaction with 3'-untranslated regions (3'UTRs) of the target mRNAs. MiRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of IAs, including in the mechanisms of formation, growth, and rupture. It is known that in many biological fluids of the human body, such as blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), numerous miRNAs, called circulating miRNAs, have been detected. The expression profile of circulating miRNAs represents a certain part of the cells in which they are modified and secreted in accordance with the physiological or pathological conditions of these cells. Circulating miRNAs can be secreted from cells into human biological fluids in extracellular vesicles or can be bound to Ago2 protein, which makes them resistant to the effects of RNAse. Therefore, circulating miRNAs are considered as new potential biomarkers of interest in many diseases, including IA.

Exosomal microRNA-23b-3p from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells maintains T helper/Treg balance by downregulating the PI3k/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway in intracranial aneurysm

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are involved in cancer initiation and metastasis, and sometimes mediate cell communication by releasing exosomes and delivering microRNAs (miRNAs). The study aims to investigate the effects of exosomal hsa-miR-23b-3p derived from human BMSCs on intracranial aneurysm (IA). Firstly, human BMSCs-derived exosomes were extracted by ultra-high speed centrifugation. After clinical specimen collection, imbalance of T helper (Th) 17/Treg was found in patients with IA. Then, basilar artery aneurysm models were established and BMSCs-derived exosomes were isolated and identified. The results showed that BMSCs-derived exosomes improved pathological remodeling of IA wall, upregulated the contractile phenotype and inhibited the secretory phenotype of smooth muscle cells and reduced the number of Th17 cells to maintain the balance of Th17/Treg. In addition, human BMSCs-derived exosomes inhibited the activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway and maintained Th17/Treg balance, which in turn interfered with aneurysm formation. Finally, the targeting relationship between hsa-miR-23b-3p and KLF5 was confirmed. We further noted that BMSCs-derived exosomal hsa-miR-23b-3p inhibited IA formation by targeting KLF5 through suppression of the PI3k/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway. All in all, our study concluded that BMSCs-derived exosomal hsa-miR-23b-3p could maintain Th17/Treg balance by targeting KLF5 through suppression of the PI3k/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway, thus inhibit IA formation.

Decreased expression of circ_0020397 in intracranial aneurysms may be contributing to decreased vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation via increased expression of miR-138 and subsequent decreased KDR expression

Dysfunction of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) mediates intracranial aneurysm (IA). KDR is reported to alleviate IA progression via promoting VSMC proliferation, while the upstream regulators are still unclear. Arterial wall tissues at the aneurysm site from 12 patients were obtained. The real-time PCR result indicated that circRNA_0020397 was down-regulated, but miR-138 was up-regulated in artery wall tissues and cells of IA. Overexpressed circRNA_0020397 promoted proliferation of human umbilical artery SMCs. MiR-138 negatively regulated KDR via binding with 3'UTR of KDR mRNA. The expression of circRNA_0020397 was negatively correlated with miR-138. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that decreased expression of circRNA_0020397 in IA may contribute to the decreased VSMC proliferation via increasing miR-138 expression and subsequently decreasing KDR expression.

A two-miRNA signature (miR-21 and miR-92) in peripheral whole blood as a potential biomarker for diagnosis of human cerebral aneurysms

Introduction

microRNAs (miRs) have been reported as blood-based noninvasive indicators for the diagnosis of various diseases. However, the utility of whole blood-based miRs in the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysm (IA) is still not clear. The present study aimed to examine miR expression profiling in the peripheral whole blood of IA patients and healthy controls.

Material and methods

Seventy-three IA patients, including 34 unruptured and 39 ruptured, and 28 healthy subjects, were recruited for diagnostic analysis. microRNA (miR) expression profiling in whole blood from healthy controls and IA patients was evaluated using miRNA microarray assay. RT-qPCR was used to evaluate miR expression. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves and the area under the ROC curves (AUC) were used to calculate the diagnostic power of miRs in whole blood of IA.

Results

We observed significantly higher miR-21 and miR-92 expression levels in aneurysmal tissues and whole blood of IA patients as compared to healthy subjects. miR-21 expression level was significantly positively correlated with miR-92 in IA tissues and whole blood of IA patients. ROC analysis revealed that miR-21 (AUC = 0.843, sensitivity = 0.849, specificity = 0.750) and miR-92 (AUC = 0.892, sensitivity = 0.945, specificity = 0.786) were promising in diagnosis of IA with high detectability. Intriguingly, miR-21 combined with miR-92 markedly improved the diagnostic power of IA (AUC = 0.920, sensitivity = 1.000, specificity = 0.786).

Conclusions

miR-21 combined with miR-92 could be considered as a potential biomarker for IA screening.

miR-4711-5p regulates cancer stemness and cell cycle progression via KLF5, MDM2 and TFDP1 in colon cancer cells

Background

It is important to establish cancer stem cell (CSC)-targeted therapies to eradicate cancer. As it is a CSC marker, we focused on Kruppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) in this study.

Methods

We searched for candidate microRNAs (miRNAs) that inhibited KLF5 expression by in silico analyses and screened them in colon cancer cell lines.

Results

We identified one promising miRNA, miR-4711-5p, that downregulated KLF5 expression by direct binding. This miRNA suppressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion ability, as well as stemness, including decreased stem cell marker expression, reactive oxygen species activity and sphere formation ability. MiR-4711-5p inhibited the growth of DLD-1 xenografts in nude mice with no adverse effects. We found that miR-4711-5p provoked G1 arrest, which could be attributed to direct binding of miR-4711-5p to TFDP1 (a heterodimeric partner of the E2F family). Our findings also suggested that direct binding of miR-4711-5p to MDM2 could upregulate wild-type p53, leading to strong induction of apoptosis. Finally, we found that miR-4711-5p had a potent tumour-suppressive effect compared with a putative anti-oncomiR, miR-34a, in tumour cell cultures derived from five patients with colorectal cancer.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that miR-4711-5p could be a promising target for CSC therapy.