{
  "abstract": "Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are key post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression that influence cancer progression and outcome. Whereas transcriptional dysregulation of miRNA abundance underlies abnormal functionality of some miRNAs in cancer, emerging data points to RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) as prominent post-transcriptional regulators of miRNA activity. Here, by modelling the regulon activities of well-characterized miRNA families in RNA-seq data of a comprehensive collection of RBP inhibition experiments, human cell lines and tissues, we report a map of regulatory connections between 34 RBPs and 28 miRNAs. Furthermore, through a global analysis of the abundance as well as the activity of miRNAs in thousands of tumor and control samples from 17 human cancers, we show that RBP-driven regulation of miRNA activity is common in tumors and contributes to the heterogeneity in miRNA activity profiles. We uncover a set of RBPs that regulate the activity of tumor-suppressor and oncogenic miRNAs, including miR-29-3p, miR-17-5p and miR-19-3p. Of particular interest, we describe a pan-cancer negative regulatory role for DDX55 on the activity of the miR-29-3p family, a critical miRNA family with tumor suppressor functions that is involved in most human cancers. Our functional studies confirm that DDX55 inhibition restores the gene-silencing activity of miR-29-3p and reduces cancer cell viability. Overall, our study provides the first pan-cancer investigation of functional regulatory connections between RBPs and miRNAs, and highlights RBPs whose interventional modulation may serve as a new approach to reprogram abnormal miRNA activities in cancer.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "McGill University"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 15,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "G. Perron"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Amaravadi"
    },
    {
      "name": "H.-W. Tseng"
    },
    {
      "name": "P. Jandaghi"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. Moslemi"
    },
    {
      "name": "T. Nishimura"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Rajaee"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. Alkallas"
    },
    {
      "name": "B. Culbertson"
    },
    {
      "name": "K. Garcia"
    },
    {
      "name": "I. R. Watson"
    },
    {
      "name": "H. Goodarzi"
    },
    {
      "name": "T. Duchaine"
    },
    {
      "name": "Y. Riazalhosseini"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "H. S. Najafabadi"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/51423mcmwmcet.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.09.29.755492",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.29.755492v1.full",
  "id": "51423mcmwmcet",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.29.755492v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "genomics"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1306|MicroRNA in disease regulation"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W4311572208",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.29.755492v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-29",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/51423mcmwmcet.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:26:18Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.09.29.755492",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.29.755492v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:genomics",
      "subfield": "genetics-genomics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A map of RBP-miRNA regulatory connections for deciphering the mechanisms of transcriptome remodeling in cancer",
  "title_text": "A map of RBP-miRNA regulatory connections for deciphering the mechanisms of transcriptome remodeling in cancer",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:26:18Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/51423mcmwmcet",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}