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AssigneeThe Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
InventorDimitris Anastassiou
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The present invention relates to the discovery that the modulation of particular microRNAs can be employed to inhibit a mesenchymal transition that, in certain instances, correlates with resistance to therapy and recurrence as the corresponding cells acquire properties of stem cells as they start undergoing this transition, as well as with invasiveness, e.g., invasion of certain cells of primary tumors into adjacent connective tissue during the initial phase of metastasis. Accordingly, the identification inhibitors of this mechanism, such as inhibitors of certain microRNAs, disclosed herein, can be used for inhibiting the mesenchymal transition to reduce the invasive nature of certain cells of primary cancerous tumors and, in certain instances, to prevent the recurrence of cancer by inhibiting the induction of stem cell-like features in certain cancer cells.
A method for detecting an epithelial-mesenchymal transition in a subject comprising determining, in a sample from the subject, the expression level, relative to a normal subject, of a SNAI2 gene product wherein overexpression of a SNAI2 gene product is indicative of the presence of an epithelial-mesenchymal transition.
A method for selecting a therapeutic intervention for a subject comprising determining, in a sample from the subject, the expression level, relative to a normal subject, of at least one gene product selected from the group consisting of SNAI2, LUM, DCN, COL1A1, COL1A2, COL3A1, and COL6A3, and at least one miRNA selected from the group consisting of miR-214, miR-199a, and miR-199b, wherein overexpression of said gene products and altered expression of said miRNA indicates that one therapeutic intervention is more appropriate than another.
A method of determining a subject's responsiveness to a therapeutic intervention comprising determining, in a sample from the subject, the expression level, relative to a normal subject, of at least one gene product selected from the group consisting of SNAI2, LUM, DCN, COL1A1, COL1A2, COL3A1, and COL6A3, and at least one miRNA selected from the group consisting of miR-214, miR-199a, and miR-199b, wherein overexpression of said gene products and altered expression of said miRNA indicates that the subject is not responsive to the therapeutic intervention.
A kit comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.