MicroRNA Gene Therapy Halts Cancer Growth, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Study

E Science News -- A new study suggests that delivering small RNAs, known as microRNAs, to cancer cells could help to stop the disease in its tracks. microRNAs control gene expression and are commonly lost in cancerous tumors. Researchers have shown that replacement of a single microRNA in mice with an extremely aggressive form of liver cancer can be enough to halt their disease, according to a report in the June 12 issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication. They delivered the microRNA to the mice using a virus that has been applied in other forms of gene therapy. That so-called adeno-associated virus (AAV) is particularly good at targeting new genetic material to the liver.