Zhang and his colleagues previously identified a protein called MED1 that is produced in much higher levels in 40% to 60% of breast cancers. MED1 plays key roles in mediating treatment resistance with estrogen receptors and the protein HER2, but researchers did not know how it was produced at such a high level to cause treatment resistance.

With this research, we mainly tried to understand why MED1 is expressing so high in these treatment-resistant breast cancers, said Zhang, professor and John and Gladys Strauss Endowed Chair in the Department of Cancer Biology in UC’s College of Medicine.

The researchers focused on microRNA, small strands of noncoding genetic material within cells that regulate the expression of different genes. The discovery of microRNA has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2024.

These noncoding RNAs, including microRNAs, are the future, Zhang said. Noncoding regions occupy approximately 90% of the human genome and people used to think they are all junk but now people realize that these noncoding RNAs transcribed actually play crucial roles such as regulating proteins expression and function.

Source : https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2025/01/university-of-cincinnati-cancer-center-study-identifies-potential-new-target-to-overcome-breast-cancer-resistance.html#:~:text=A%20new%20University%20of%20Cincinnati,published%20in%20the%20journal%20Cancers.