Mitra and colleagues analyzed microRNA expression profiles of fibroblasts isolated from ovarian cancer patients, searching for dysregulated microRNAs in the stromal compartment of human cancer. They found that decreased miR-31 and miR-214 and increased miR-155 expression can reprogram normal fibroblasts into tumor-promoting cancer-associated fibroblasts. They identified CCL5, a protumorigenic chemokine that is highly expressed in tumors, as a key target of miR-214, thus showing that microRNA perturbation in the stromal microenvironment can affect tumor growth.
©2012 AACR.