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I Understand Advertisement Technology Networks logo Drug Discovery Subscribe * Science News * Communities + Analysis & Separations + Applied Sciences + Biopharma + Cancer Research + Cell Science + Diagnostics + Drug Discovery + Genomics Research + Immunology & Microbiology + Informatics + Neuroscience + Proteomics & Metabolomics * Content + Articles + News + Infographics + Industry Insights + eBooks + Magazines + How To Guides + Listicles + Immersive Articles + Podcasts + Webinars & Online Events + Videos + Calculators + Posters + Products + App Notes & Case Studies + Compendiums + Whitepapers + Topic Hub [ ] Search Close Skip to content or Skip to footer Technology Networks logo Drug Discovery [ ] Search Stay up to date on the topics that matter to you * Science News * Communities + Analysis & Separations + Applied Sciences + Biopharma + Cancer Research + Cell Science + Diagnostics + Drug Discovery + Genomics Research + Immunology & Microbiology + Informatics + Neuroscience + Proteomics & Metabolomics * Content + Articles + News + Infographics + Industry Insights + eBooks + Magazines + How To Guides + Listicles + Immersive Articles + Podcasts + Webinars & Online Events + Videos + Calculators + Posters + Products + App Notes & Case Studies + Compendiums + Whitepapers + Topic Hub Subscribe Now * Home * Drug Discovery * News * Content Piece Mechanism Behind Aspirin's Protective Effect Against Colorectal Cancer Identified Aspirin can reduce colorectal cancer risk and inhibit cancer progression. A new study has shown how. News Published: November 3, 2023 | Original story from Ludwig Maximilians Universitat Munchen White pills on a blue background. Credit: Hal Gatewood/ Unsplash Download Article [6LfeinwcAAAAAMU1zJwf] Listen with Speechify 0:00 Register for free to listen to this article Thank you. Listen to this article using the player above. Want to listen to this article for FREE? Complete the form below to unlock access to ALL audio articles. Technology Networks Ltd. needs the contact information you provide to us to contact you about our products and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For information on how to unsubscribe, as well as our privacy practices and commitment to protecting your privacy, check out our Privacy Policy Read time: 1 minute Colorectal cancer (bowel cancer) is the third most common form of cancer worldwide, with around 1.9 million newly diagnosed cases and 900,000 deaths every year. Therefore, preventive substances represent an urgent clinical need. Aspirin/acetylsalicylic acid has proven to be one of the most promising candidates for the prevention of colorectal cancer. Among other findings, studies have shown that when patients with cardiovascular diseases took low doses of aspirin over several years, it reduced their risk of colorectal cancer. Furthermore, aspirin can inhibit the progression of colorectal cancer. Now a team led by Heiko Hermeking, Professor of Experimental and Molecular Pathology at LMU, has investigated which molecular mechanisms mediate these effects. As the researchers report in the journal Cell Death and Disease, aspirin induces the production of two tumor-suppressive microRNA molecules (miRNAs) called miR-34a and miR-34b/c. To do this, aspirin binds to and activates the enzyme AMPK, which in turn alters the transcription factor NRF2 such that it migrates into the cell nucleus and activates the expression of the miR-34 genes. For this activation to succeed, aspirin additionally suppresses the oncogene product c-MYC, which otherwise inhibits NRF2. Want more breaking news? Subscribe to Technology Networks' daily newsletter, delivering breaking science news straight to your inbox every day. Subscribe for FREE Overall, the results show that the miR-34 genes are necessary for mediating the inhibiting effect of aspirin on colorectal cancer cells. Aspirin was thus unable to prevent migration, invasion, and metastasis in miR-34-deficient cancer cells. It was already known that the miR-34 genes are induced by the transcription factor p53 and mediate its effects. "Our results show, however, that activation of the miR-34 genes by aspirin takes place independently of the p53 signaling pathway," says Hermeking. "This is important because the p53-encoding gene is the most commonly inactivated tumor suppressor gene in colorectal cancer. In most other kinds of cancer, moreover, p53 is inactivated by mutations or viruses in the majority of cases. Aspirin could therefore be employed therapeutically in such cases in the future." Reference: Liu C, Rokavec M, Huang Z, Hermeking H. Salicylate induces AMPK and inhibits c-MYC to activate a NRF2/ARE/miR-34a/b/c cascade resulting in suppression of colorectal cancer metastasis. Cell Death Dis. 2023;14(10):1-15. doi: 10.1038/s41419-023-06226-9 This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source. 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