AUTHOR=Dooley James , Lagou Vasiliki , Pasciuto Emanuela , Linterman Michelle A. , Prosser Haydn M. , Himmelreich Uwe , Liston Adrian 

TITLE=No Functional Role for microRNA-342 in a Mouse Model of Pancreatic Acinar Carcinoma

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2017.00101

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2017.00101

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p>The intronic microRNA (miR)-342 has been proposed as a potent tumor-suppressor gene. miR-342 is found to be downregulated or epigenetically silenced in multiple different tumor sites, and this loss of expression permits the upregulation of several key oncogenic pathways. In several different cell lines, lower miR-342 expression results in enhanced proliferation and metastasis potential, both <italic>in vitro</italic> and in xenogenic transplant conditions. Here, we sought to determine the function of miR-342 in an <italic>in vivo</italic> spontaneous cancer model, using the Ela1-TAg transgenic model of pancreatic acinar carcinoma. Through longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging monitoring of Ela1-TAg transgenic mice, either wild-type or knockout for <italic>miR-342</italic>, we found no role for miR-342 in the development, growth rate, or pathogenicity of pancreatic acinar carcinoma. These results indicate the importance of assessing miR function in the complex physiology of <italic>in vivo</italic> model systems and indicate that further functional testing of miR-342 is required before concluding it is a bona fide tumor-suppressor-miR.</p>