Mechanism of microRNA - dependent regulation of the invasiveness of pituitary adenomas

Pituitary adenomas are tumors that arise from the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland and act as the central regulator of hormonal homeostasis in the body. Pituitary tumors account for 10-15% of all intracranial neoplasms, the vast majority of which are adenomas. They are usually benign lesions, but there may also be malignant forms with poor prognosis, in which early tumor detection and implementation of neurosurgical treatment significantly improves the prognosis. To date, there is no good biomarker for malignant pituitary adenomas [1,2,6]. MicroRNAs are small, non-coding RNA molecules that can influence the regulation of genes. The literature confirmed changes in microRNA expression in various types of neoplasms [4,5]. Recent studies suggest microRNA deregulation also in the pathogenesis of pituitary adenomas [3]. The current project aims to identify new microRNAs that could serve in the future as a new marker for invasiveness of pituitary adenomas using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). Another goal of this project is to investigate the regulatory role of selected microRNAs having binding sites in the 3 'UTR of genes for cell cycle proteins. To date, little is known about the regulatory role of the selected microRNAs and their impact on the level of cell cycle protein expression in pituitary adenomas. It is worth noting that the increased expression of cyclins, which is the subject of the research in this project, is often correlated with the increased malignancy of neoplasms, invasiveness and metastasis formation in many neoplasms [7]. Overall, this project aims to investigate the effects of epigenetic factors on cell cycle protein expression and in vitro invasiveness potential in model pituitary adenoma cell lines. At the same time, the aim of the research is to find new microRNA genes, the change in expression of which could be confirmed in the preliminary studies. The results of the experiments included in the project will be of great cognitive value as they may help to understand the still unexplained influence of microRNA on the expression of cell cycle proteins in human pituitary adenomas. In addition, the implementation of this research may help in the discovery of completely new cellular disorders leading to the inhibition or progression of neoplastic cells, and, consequently, determine the direction of searching for new therapeutic targets in the treatment of human pituitary adenomas.