Epigenetic mechanisms of the influence of aging on the development of breast cancer with the participation of retroelements

Abstract

Breast cancer as a multifactorial disease is associated with aging and a variety of polymorphisms located mainly in intronic, regulatory and intergenic regions. Since retroelement genes are localized in these regions, it has been suggested that such polymorphisms lead to the development of breast cancer by altering the activity and functioning of retroelements. This assumption is also supported by the fact of pathological activation of retroelements during aging, which explains the increase in the incidence of breast cancer with age. This article describes the facts of activation and mechanisms of influence of LINE, SINE, LTR retroelements on breast cancer, which confirms the proposed assumption. In addition, the article describes the association of retroelement-derived oncogenic and tumor suppressor microRNAs involved in breast cancer carcinogenesis with aging, and reveals the mechanisms of interactions of retroelements with 86 microRNAs derived from them in these processes. The article describes promising ways of using the identified retroelement-derived microRNAs in targeted therapy of breast cancer using antisense oligonucleotides and the microRNAs themselves as tools. Using 17 of the retroelement-derived microRNAs described in the articles, the expression of which changes similarly in both breast cancer and aging, it is possible not only to target breast cancer therapy, but also to slow down aging.

Keywords: Long non-coding RNAs, carcinogenesis, microRNAs, breast cancer, retroelements, aging