Looking in the miR-ror: TGF-β-mediated activation of NF-κB in glioma.

The explosive growth in our understanding of the molecular underpinnings of glioblastomas has served as an instructive paradigm for other cancers. However, the exact nature by which many of the pathogenic drivers connect is less well known, and elucidation of relationships between critical genetic and signaling alterations may inform the development of therapeutic approaches to the disease. In this issue, Song et al. identify miR-182 induction as a mechanism by which TGF-β stimulation aberrantly activates NF-κB signaling in glioblastoma cells, clarifying a critical point of cross-talk between molecular signaling pathways. Their findings provide a greater understanding of the complex interplay between signaling pathways in cancer that may ultimately prove useful in the development of synergistic targeting approaches.