Open AccesstRNA modification and cancer: potential for therapeutic prevention and intervention
Author(s) -
Lauren Endres,
Michael Fasullo,
Rebecca E. Rose
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
future medicinal chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.708
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1756-8927
pISSN - 1756-8919
DOI - 10.4155/fmc-2018-0404
Subject(s) - translation (biology) , carcinogenesis , transfer rna , cancer , cancer cell , biology , cancer prevention , oxidative stress , cancer research , computational biology , bioinformatics , genetics , rna , gene , biochemistry , messenger rna
Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) undergo extensive chemical modification within cells through the activity of tRNA methyltransferase enzymes (TRMs). Although tRNA modifications are dynamic, how they impact cell behavior after stress and during tumorigenesis is not well understood. This review discusses how tRNA modifications influence the translation of codon-biased transcripts involved in responses to oxidative stress. We further discuss emerging mechanistic details about how aberrant TRM activity in cancer cells can direct programs of codon-biased translation that drive cancer cell phenotypes. The studies reviewed here predict future preventative therapies aimed at augmenting TRM activity in individuals at risk for cancer due to exposure. They further predict that attenuating TRM-dependent translation in cancer cells may limit disease progression while leaving noncancerous cells unharmed.