Role of microRNAs to the attenuation of the colon tumor growth induced by aerobic physical activity in mice

Abstract

Physical activity reduces the incidence of many human cancers and mitigates tumor growth and decreases metastatic tumors in different animal models of cancer. However, there is a large lack in the literature about the molecular mechanisms involved in the attenuation of tumor growth induced by aerobic physical activity. We found that mice that performed aerobic physical activity presented attenuation of the colon tumor growth. microRNAs are often found deregulated in colon tumors, and their deregulation is associated with tumor progression and poorer prognosis of the patient. However, it is unknown if aerobic physical activity modulates deregulated microRNAs, promoting tumor growth attenuation. Considering the preliminary results and the above, we outlined an experimental study to investigate the role of microRNAs to the attenuation of the colon tumor growth induced by aerobic physical activity in mice. Specifically, through large-scale analysis (microRNA Array), we intend to identify and validate, both in tumor cell culture and in animals, those microRNAs involved in the colon tumor progression and that it are altered by aerobic physical activity. Finally, through bioinformatics analyzes, we intend to validate if the microRNAs found are associated with survival in different cohorts of patients with colon cancer.Keywords: Aerobic physical activity; Colon cancer; miRNA.