ArticleBiochemical Society transactions2025
Redesigning miR-34a: structural and chemical advances in the therapeutic development of an miRNA anti-cancer agent.
Article in Biochemical Society transactions, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Targeting Immune Checkpoint Proteins in Cancer Therapy and the Potential of RNAi-Based Immunotherapy.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Review
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) represent a promising class of therapeutics due to their ability to down-regulate multiple genes simultaneously. This offers a significant therapeutic advantage in cancer, where heterogeneity often activates different pathways in different patients. Chemical modifications to the miRNA help overcome challenges associated with nuclease susceptibility, high immunogenicity, and the need for high or repeated dosing to achieve therapeutic effects. The main chemical modifications include changes to the ribose and backbone. Ribose modifications, including 2'-O-methyl and 2'-fluoro, improve nuclease resistance and plasma stability and lower the immunogenicity of the miRNA. Phosphorothioate (PS) backbone modifications increase resistance to nucleases and prolong circulation by enhancing serum protein affinity. Integrating these stabilizing chemical modifications with ligand targeting allows for specific delivery of the chemically modified miRNAs to tumors and metastases, bypassing bulky delivery vehicles and improving penetration into dense tumor architectures. Enhancements to ligand chemistry can also overcome endosomal entrapment. Incorporating many of the modifications discussed in this mini-review, the first fully modified version of miR-34a (FM-miR-34a) was developed, marking a significant milestone as the first fully modified miRNA to demonstrate substantial in vivo activity. Ongoing optimization of the chemical modifications and ligand chemistry, and integrating artificial intelligence into the design process are expected to further extend the potential for delivering on the promise of using these Nobel Prize-winning miRNAs as anti-cancer agents.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.