"Identification and validation of miRNAs that downregulate expression of the tumor suppressor protein Semaphorin 5A in human glioblastomas"

Glioblastomas are malignant and common form of brain tumors that exhibit high invasiveness and resistance to chemo/radiotherapy, leading to high recurrence and short patient survival. We demonstrated tumor suppressor functions of Sema5A protein in inhibiting glioblastoma cell invasion and proliferation, which is compromised in high-grade tumors due to its downregulation. Nonetheless, neither changes in transcription level nor mutations and genetic aberrations was found in Sema5A. In this study, several miRNAs were identified by in silico predication and experimentally validated to repress translation of Sema5A, which account for the significantly reduced expression of Sema5A in glioblastomas and represent novel therapeutics targets.