Highlights

• The study is the first to demonstrate that a plant-derived tRNA fragment (tRF-T11) can suppress a human oncogene via RNAi.
• tRF-T11 targets TRPA1, a previously underexplored cancer-related gene, using a dual-luciferase and AGO2-RIP validation approach.
• tRF-T11 shows comparable anti-cancer effects to taxol in ovarian cancer models at 1/16th the dose, with minimal side effects.

Summary

The research article presents a novel discovery that a tRNA-derived fragment (tRF-T11) from the Chinese yew plant can suppress ovarian cancer growth by targeting the oncogene TRPA1.

Using a reverse siRNA screening approach, the researchers found that tRF-T11 mimic exhibited anti-cancer effects comparable to taxol but required a significantly lower dose. The fragment interacts with AGO2 proteins in cancer cells to silence TRPA1 via the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway, thereby inhibiting tumor proliferation, migration, and invasion both in vitro and in a mouse xenograft model. Importantly, tRF-T11 did not affect healthy ovarian or fallopian tube cells and showed minimal systemic toxicity, highlighting its potential as a safe therapeutic.

This study underscores the therapeutic promise of plant-derived RNA molecules and introduces tRF-T11 as the first known natural RNA capable of silencing human TRPA1.

K.-Y. Cao et al., “A tRNA-derived fragment from Chinese yew suppresses ovarian cancer growth via targeting TRPA1,” Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids, vol. 27, pp. 718–732, Mar. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.omtn.2021.12.037.