In this review, we highlight research and clinical trials involving lycopene and its impact on human health.

Malignant gliomas represent the most devastating group of brain tumors in adults, among which glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) exhibits the highest malignancy rate. Despite combined modality treatment, GBM recurs and is invariably fatal. A further insight into the molecular background of gliomagenesis is required to improve patient outcomes. The primary aim of this study was to gain broad information on the miRNA expression pattern in malignant gliomas, mainly GBM. We investigated the global miRNA profile of malignant glioma tissues with miRNA microarrays, deep sequencing and meta‐analysis. We selected miRNAs that were most frequently deregulated in glioblastoma tissues, as well as in peritumoral areas, in comparison with normal human brain. We identified candidate miRNAs associated with the progression from glioma grade III to glioma grade IV. The meta‐analysis of miRNA profiling studies in GBM tissues summarizes the past and recent advances in the investigation of the miRNA signature in GBM versus noncancerous human brain and provides a comprehensive overview. We propose a list of 35 miRNAs whose expression is most frequently deregulated in GBM patients and of 30 miRNA candidates recognized as novel GBM biomarkers.

5S rRNA is an integral component of the large ribosomal subunit in all known organisms. Despite many years of intensive study, the function of 5S rRNA in the ribosome remains unknown. Advances in the analysis of ribosome structure that have revealed the crystal structures of large ribosomal subunits and of the complete ribosome from various organisms put the results of studies on 5S rRNA in a new perspective. This paper summarizes recently published data on the structure and function of 5S rRNA and its interactions in complexes with proteins, within and outside the ribosome.

Micro RNAs (miRNAs) (19–25 nucleotides in length) belong to the group of non-coding RNAs are the most abundant group of posttranscriptional regulators in multicellular organisms. They affect a gene expression by binding of fully or partially complementary sequences to the 3’-UTR of target mRNA. Furthermore, miRNAs present a mechanism by which genes with diverse functions on multiple pathways can be simultaneously regulated at the post-transcriptional level. However, little is known about the specific pathways through which miRNAs with specific sequence or structural motifs regulate the cellular processes. In this paper we showed the broad and deep characteristics of mature miRNAs according to their sequence and structural motifs. We investigated a distinct group of miRNAs characterized by the presence of specific sequence motifs, such as UGUGU, GU-repeats and purine/pyrimidine contents. Using computational function and pathway analysis of their targeted genes, we were able to observe the relevance of sequence and the type of targeted mRNAs. As the consequence of the sequence analysis we finally provide the comprehensive description of pathways, biological processes and proteins associated with the distinct group of characterized miRNAs. Here, we found that the specific group of miRNAs with UGUGU can activate the targets associated to the interferon induction pathway or pathways prominently observed during carcinogenesis. GU-rich miRNAs are prone to regulate mostly processes in neurogenesis, whereas purine/pyrimidine rich miRNAs could be involved rather in transport and/or degradation of RNAs. Additionally, we have also analyzed the simple sequence repeats (SSRs). Their variation within mature miRNAs might be critical for normal miRNA regular activity. Expansion or contraction of SSRs in mature miRNA might directly affect its mRNA interaction or even change the function of that distinct miRNA. Our results prove that due to the specific sequence features, these molecules can also be involved in well-defined cellular processes depending on their sequence contents. The pathway mapping and theoretical gene target identification allowed us to create a biological framework to show the relevance of the specific miRNAs in regulation the distinct type of targets.

The generally accepted model of the miRNA-guided RNA down-regulation suggests that mature miRNA targets mRNA in a nucleotide sequence-specific manner. However, we have shown that the nucleotide sequence of miRNA is not the only determinant of miRNA specificity. Using specific nucleases, T1, V1 and S1 as well as NMR, UV/Vis and CD spectroscopies, we found that miR-21, miR-93 and miR-296 can adopt hairpin and/or homoduplex structures. The secondary structure of those miRNAs in solution is a function of RNA concentration and ionic conditions. Additionally, we have shown that a formation of miRNA hairpin is facilitated by cellular environment.Looking for functional consequences of this observation, we have perceived that structure of these miRNAs resemble RNA aptamers, short oligonucleotides forming a stable 3D structures with a high affinity and specificity for their targets. We compared structures of anti-tenascin C (anti-Tn-C) aptamers, which inhibit brain tumor glioblastoma multiforme (GBM, WHO IV) and selected miRNA. A strong overexpression of miR-21, miR-93 as well Tn-C in GBM may imply some connections between them. The structural similarity of these miRNA hairpins and anti-Tn-C aptamers indicates that miRNAs may function also beyond RISC and are even more sophisticated regulators, that it was previously expected. We think that the knowledge of the miRNA structure may give a new insight into miRNA-dependent gene regulation mechanism and be a step forward in the understanding their function and involvement in cancerogenesis. This may improve design process of anti-miRNA therapeutics.