microRNA-214在恶性肿瘤中的表达及相关性的研究进展

微小RNA(microRNA,miRNA)是广泛存在于动植物中的一类不编码蛋白质的短小的单链RNA分子,一般由22个核苷酸组成,它们可以特异性地结合mRNA并通过降解或抑制其翻译而在转录后水平调控基因表达。miRNA的表达及功能可影响许多表观遗传学特征,其功能涉及细胞的发生、生长、发育、分化和凋亡过程,在肿瘤的形成和进展过程中扮演重要角色。microRNA-214(miRNA-214,miR-214)参与肝癌、乳腺癌、宫颈癌、卵巢癌、恶性黑色素瘤、胃癌、胶质瘤、儿童骨肉瘤等恶性肿瘤的发生发展,以及与肿瘤细胞的侵袭及转移密切相关。miRNA-214在不同的肿瘤中表达水平并不相同,miRNA-214在不同肿瘤中的差异表达是通过调控某个或者某些癌基因及抑癌基因而实现其参与肿瘤的发生发展、侵袭及转移的作用。因此,本文主要通过阅读大量国内外文献,总结和概括了miRNA-214参与部分恶性肿瘤发生发展的机制。虽然目前对于miRNA的理论研究已经日渐完善和成熟,但是怎样将这些研究结果应用于临床,怎样能够更准确、更便捷的通过对miRNA的检测达到对疾病的诊断、治疗以及预后评估,想必一定会成为将来研究的热点,我们期待一种新型的恶性肿瘤的分子标志物会使越来越多的肿瘤患者获益。     

Identification of Ovarian Cancer Metastatic miRNAs

Serous epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients often succumb to aggressive metastatic disease, yet little is known about the behavior and genetics of ovarian cancer metastasis. Here, we aim to understand how omental metastases differ from primary tumors and how these differences may influence chemotherapy. We analyzed the miRNA expression profiles of primary EOC tumors and their respective omental metastases from 9 patients using miRNA Taqman qPCR arrays. We find 17 miRNAs with differential expression in omental lesions compared to primary tumors. miR-21, miR-150, and miR-146a have low expression in most primary tumors with significantly increased expression in omental lesions, with concomitant decreased expression of predicted mRNA targets based on mRNA expression. We find that miR-150 and miR-146a mediate spheroid size. Both miR-146a and miR-150 increase the number of residual surviving cells by 2–4 fold when challenged with lethal cisplatin concentrations. These observations suggest that at least two of the miRNAs, miR-146a and miR-150, up-regulated in omental lesions, stimulate survival and increase drug tolerance. Our observations suggest that cancer cells in omental tumors express key miRNAs differently than primary tumors, and that at least some of these microRNAs may be critical regulators of the emergence of drug resistant disease.     

miRNA-21 inhibition suppresses the human epithelial ovarian cancer by targeting PTEN signal pathway

ObjectTo explore the role of microRNA-21 in human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).MethodsWe used RT-PCR to test the expressions of miRNA-21 in EOC cells and normal ovarian epithelial cells, as well as the tumor samples and the tumor-adjacent normal tissues. The vector of LV3 pGLV-H1-GFP-miR-21 was used to decrease the level expression of endogenous miR-21 in cells. Further, we investigated how miR-21 affected the biological events of EOC through determining the changes in proliferation, cycle and invasion of EOC cells, and measured the tumorigenesis in xenograft models. The association between phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) and miR-21 were tested by RT-PCR. Next, siRNA was used to knockdown PTEN gene which help us to assess the functional association between miR-21 and PTEN in vivo and in vitro.ResultsIn EOC cell lines and human epithelial ovarian tumor cells, we found that miR-21 altered the biological features of EOC cells, including suppression of proliferation and invasion and arrest of cell cycle, and also resulted in a decrease in tumorigenesis in the in vitro xenograft models. The association between PTEN and miR-21 was confirmed in previous research. From our results, the down-regulation of PTEN gave rise to the miR-21 decrease, regardless of the cells or tissues.ConclusionThe suppression of microRNA-21 inhibits the progression of EOC profoundly. In EOC, miR-21 is negatively correlated with the expression of PTEN gene.     

The RUNX1 transcription factor is expressed in serous epithelial ovarian carcinoma and contributes to cell proliferation,migration and invasion

Previously, we have identified the RUNX1 gene as hypomethylated and overexpressed in post-chemotherapy (CT) primary cultures derived from epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients, when compared with primary cultures derived from matched primary (prior to CT) tumors. Here we show that RUNX1 displays a trend of hypomethylation, although not significant, in omental metastases compared with primary EOC tumors. Surprisingly, RUNX1 displayed significantly higher expression not only in metastatic tissue, but also in high-grade primary tumors and even in low malignant potential tumors. The RUNX1 expression levels were almost identical in primary tumors and omental metastases, suggesting that RUNX1 hypomethylation might have a limited impact on its overexpression in advanced (metastatic) stage of the disease.

Knockdown of the RUNX1 expression in EOC cells led to sharp decrease of cell proliferation and induced G₁ cell cycle arrest. Moreover, RUNX1 suppression significantly inhibited EOC cell migration and invasion. Gene expression profiling and consecutive network and pathway analyses confirmed these findings, as numerous genes and pathways known previously to be implicated in ovarian tumorigenesis, including EOC tumor invasion and metastasis, were found to be downregulated upon RUNX1 suppression, while a number of pro-apoptotic genes and some EOC tumor suppressor genes were induced.

Taken together, our data are indicative for a strong oncogenic potential of the RUNX1 gene in EOC progression and suggest that RUNX1 might be a novel EOC therapeutic target. Further studies are needed to more completely elucidate the functional implications of RUNX1 and other members of the RUNX gene family in ovarian tumorigenesis.     

Clinical significance of blood-based miRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic nucleic acid markers in breast cancer: Comparative to conventional tumor markers

microRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in carcinogenesis and their expression in biological fluids offer great potential as nucleic acid markers for cancer detection and progression. Authors investigated the expression level of miRNAs (miRNA-21, miRNA-126, and miRNA-155) to evaluate their role as diagnostic and prognostic markers for breast cancer compared with other commonly used protein-based markers (CEA and CA15-3). Serum samples from patients with breast cancer (n = 96), patients with benign breast lesion (n = 47), and healthy individuals (n = 39) were enrolled for detection of miRNA expression levels and protein-based tumor markers using fluorescent real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Correlation among investigated markers with clinicopathological factors and clinical outcomes were determined. Expression of miRNA-21 and miRNA-155 revealed significant increases in patients with breast cancer compared with both benign and control groups, the same result was reported for tumor markers; on the other hand, miRNA-126 was significantly decreased in breast cancer group as compared with the other two groups. miRNA frequencies were significantly related to clinical staging and histological grading as compared with tumor markers. Patients with breast cancer with increased miRNA-21 and miRNA-155 and decreased miRNA-126 expressions had significantly worse disease-free survival, while only miRNA-21 and miRNA-126 showed poor OS (P< 0.005). In conclusion, investigated miRNAs were superior over tumor markers for the early stage of breast cancer especially those with high-risk factor and their assessment in blood facilitates their role as a potential prognostic molecular marker.     

Clinical Relevance of Increased Endothelial and Mesothelial Expression of Proangiogenic Proteases and VEGFA in the Omentum of Patients with Metastatic Ovarian High-Grade Serous Carcinoma

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) metastasis to the omentum requires implantation and angiogenesis. We propose that prometastatic changes in the omental endothelium (for angiogenesis) and mesothelium (for implantation) are critical. We investigated the expression of angiogenic proteases [cathepsin D (CD), cathepsin L (CL), and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) and MMP9] and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) in the mesothelium and endothelium of omentum from patients with EOC with omental metastases and control patients with benign ovarian tumors. Endothelial expression of CL, VEGFA, and MMP9 and mesothelial expression of VEGFA, MMP9, and CD were significantly increased in patients with metastasized EOC. High expression of MMP9 and VEGFA in endothelium and mesothelium and CD in mesothelium was positively associated with poor disease-specific survival (DSS). High MMP9 expression in either endothelium or mesothelium and presence of ascites prospectively showed the greatest risk of shorter DSS [hazard ratio (HR)= 6.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.76-21.6, P = .0045; HR = 11.42, 95% CI = 2.59-50.35, P = .0013; and HR = 6.35, 95% CI = 2.01-20.1, P = .002, respectively]. High endothelial MMP9 expression and ascites were independent predictors of reduced DSS and overall survival, together resulting in worst patient prognosis. Our data show that omental metastasis of EOC is associated with increased proangiogenic protein expression in the omental endothelium and mesothelium.     

MiRNA-21 Expression Decreases from Primary Tumors to Liver Metastases in Colorectal Carcinoma

Objective

Metastasis is the major cause of death in colorectal cancer patients. Expression of certain miRNAs in the primary tumors has been shown to be associated with progression of colorectal cancer and the initiation of metastasis. In this study, we compared miRNA expression in primary colorectal cancer and corresponding liver metastases in order to get an idea of the oncogenic importance of the miRNAs in established metastases.

Methods

We analyzed the expression of miRNA-21, miRNA-31 and miRNA-373 in corresponding formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples of primary colorectal cancer, liver metastasis and healthy tissues of 29 patients by quantitative real-time PCR.

Results

All three miRNAs were significantly up-regulated in the primary tumor tissues as compared to healthy colon mucosa of the respective patients (p < 0.01). MiRNA-21 and miRNA-31 were also higher expressed in liver metastases as compared to healthy liver tissues (p < 0.01). No significant difference of expression of miRNA-31 and miRNA-373 was observed between primary tumors and metastases. Of note, miRNA-21 expression was significantly reduced in liver metastases as compared to the primary colorectal tumors (p < 0.01).

Conclusion

In the context of previous studies demonstrating increased miRNA-21 expression in metastatic primary tumors, our findings raise the question whether miRNA-21 might be involved in the initiation but not in the perpetuation and growth of metastases.     

c-Src在上皮性卵巢癌组织中的表达及意义

目的:探讨上皮性卵巢癌组织中细胞肉瘤蛋白(Cell sarcoma,c-Src)的表达及其其临床意义。方法:通过Western blotting方法检测4例正常卵巢组织及21例上皮性卵巢组织中c-Src蛋白的表达。同时,通过免疫组化的方法检测26例正常卵巢组织和134例上皮性卵巢癌组织中c-Src的表达。统计分析c-Src的表达与上皮性卵巢肿瘤的临床病理因素之间的关系。结果:与正常卵巢组织相比,上皮性卵巢癌组织中c-Src蛋白的表达明显增高。c-Src蛋白的过表达与上皮性卵巢癌患者的临床病理分期、组织学分化程度、淋巴结转移情况及肿瘤复发之间差异存在统计学意义(P0.05),但与患者的年龄等因素均无显著相关性(P0.05)。此外,c-Src蛋白的高表达,与上皮性卵巢癌患者的预后密切相关(P0.05)。结论:c-Src在上皮性卵巢癌组织中过表达,且与肿瘤的恶性生物学行为密切相关,可能作为评估上皮性卵巢癌恶性程度、病情进展的重要指标及分子靶向疗法的新靶点。     

LncRNA AWPPH and miRNA-21 regulates cancer cell proliferation and chemosensitivity in triple-negative breast cancer by interacting with each other

Long–non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) AWPPH promotes the progression of liver and bladder cancer, indicating its oncogenic role. The current study aimed to explore the involvement of AWPPH in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In the current study, we found that plasma levels of lncRNA AWPPH and microRNA-21 (miRNA-21) were upregulated in patients with TNBC than in healthy controls, and the upregulation of plasma lncRNA AWPPH and miRNA-21 distinguished early-stage patients with TNBC from healthy controls. Plasma levels of lncRNA AWPPH and miRNA-21 were significantly and positively correlated in both patients with TNBC and healthy controls. LncRNA AWPPH and miRNA-21 overexpression led to promoted cancer cells proliferation and improved cancer cell viability under carboplatin treatment, while lncRNA AWPPH small interfering RNA (siRNA) silencing played an opposite role. In addition, miRNA-21 overexpression attenuated the effects of lncRNA AWPPH siRNA silencing on of cancer cell behaviors. LncRNA AWPPH overexpression led to upregulated miRNA-21 in TNBC cells, while miRNA-21 overexpression also led to significantly upregulated lncRNA AWPPH expression. Therefore, lncRNA AWPPH and miRNA-21 may regulate cancer cell proliferation and chemosensitivity in TNBC by interacting with each other.     

Inhibition of RUNX2 Transcriptional Activity Blocks the Proliferation,Migration and Invasion of Epithelial Ovarian Carcinoma Cells

Previously, we have identified the RUNX2 gene as hypomethylated and overexpressed in post-chemotherapy (CT) primary cultures derived from serous epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients, when compared to primary cultures derived from matched primary (prior to CT) tumors. However, we found no differences in the RUNX2 methylation in primary EOC tumors and EOC omental metastases, suggesting that DNA methylation-based epigenetic mechanisms have no impact on RUNX2 expression in advanced (metastatic) stage of the disease. Moreover, RUNX2 displayed significantly higher expression not only in metastatic tissue, but also in high-grade primary tumors and even in low malignant potential tumors. Knockdown of the RUNX2 expression in EOC cells led to a sharp decrease of cell proliferation and significantly inhibited EOC cell migration and invasion. Gene expression profiling and consecutive network and pathway analyses confirmed these findings, as various genes and pathways known previously to be implicated in ovarian tumorigenesis, including EOC tumor invasion and metastasis, were found to be downregulated upon RUNX2 suppression, while a number of pro-apoptotic genes and some EOC tumor suppressor genes were induced.Taken together, our data are indicative for a strong oncogenic potential of the RUNX2 gene in serous EOC progression and suggest that RUNX2 might be a novel EOC therapeutic target. Further studies are needed to more completely elucidate the functional implications of RUNX2 and other members of the RUNX gene family in ovarian tumorigenesis.     

HeLa细胞中miRNA-214靶基因Mek3的确定

目的探索miRNA-214在HeLa细胞中的与其靶基因Mek3相互作用。方法通过miRNA靶基因预测网站寻找可能与miRNA-214相互作用的靶基因,合成miRNA-214和对照序列,将miRNA-214、对照序列、Mek3的3’非翻译区（3’UTR）以及突变的Mek3 3’UTR分别克隆到表达载体上,转染HeLa细胞,转染48h后提取蛋白,检测绿色荧光蛋白的表达水平;HeLa细胞转染miRNA-214后,Trizol抽提RNA,通过荧光定量PCR检测Mek3mRNA的表达水平;Western印迹检Mek3的蛋白表达水平。经过以上实验从mRNA和蛋白水平上验证了在HeLa细胞中miRNA-214对靶基因Mek3的作用效应。结果生物信息学方法显示miRNA-214和Mek3存在可能的结合位点。经过实验验证了miRNA-214可以下调Mek3的mRNA和蛋白水平。结论miRNA-214可以负调节靶基因Mek3的表达。     

Clinical significance of the expression of miRNA-21, miRNA-31 and miRNA-let7 in patients with lung cancer

ObjectiveTo explore the expression differences of miRNA-21, miRNA-31 and miRNA-let7 between lung cancer patient and healthy people, thereby providing reference for early diagnosis of lung cancer.MethodReal-time PCR was employed to determine the expression difference between lung cancer patients (50 cases) and healthy people (24 cases). The clinical data of lung cancer patients were analyzed to explore the correlation between clinicopathological characteristics and expression level of miRNA-21, miRNA-31, miRNA-let7.ResultsThe relative expression levels of miRNA-21 and miRNA-31 in lung cancer group were obviously higher than those in healthy control group, and the relative expression level of miRNA-let7 in lung cancer group was slightly higher than that in healthy control group. Lung cancer patients with lymph node metastasis had higher expression level than those without lymph node metastasis. The ROC curve showed that the three miRNAs had clinical diagnosis efficiency for lung cancer, and the combined detection of the three miRNAs were more efficient in diagnosing lung cancer. Survival curve analysis suggested that the median survival times of patients in the miRNA-21 and miRNA-31 high expression groups were shorter than those in the low expression groups, and the median survival time of patients in miRNA-let7 high expression group was longer than that in the low expression group.ConclusionPlasma miRNA-21, miRNA-31 and miRNA-let7 may be diagnostic marker for lung cancer.     

Effect of Ovarian Cancer Ascites on Cell Migration and Gene Expression in an Epithelial Ovarian Cancer In Vitro Model

A third of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) present ascites. The cellular fraction of ascites often consists of EOC cells, lymphocytes, and mesothelial cells, whereas the acellular fraction contains cytokines and angiogenic factors. Clinically, the presence of ascites correlates with intraperitoneal and retroperitoneal tumor spread. We have used OV-90, a tumorigenic EOC cell line derived from the malignant ascites of a chemonaive ovarian cancer patient, as a model to assess the effect of ascites on migration potential using an in vitro wound-healing assay. A recent report of an invasion assay described the effect of ascites on the invasion potential of the OV-90 cell line. Ascites sampled from 31 ovarian cancer patients were tested and compared with either 5% fetal bovine serum or no serum for their nonstimulatory or stimulatory effect on the migration potential of the OV-90 cell line. A supervised analysis of data generated by the Affymetrix HG-U133A GeneChip identified differentially expressed genes from OV-90 cells exposed to ascites that had either a nonstimulatory or a stimulatory effect on migration. Ten genes (IRS2, CTSD, NRAS, MLXIP, HMGCR, LAMP1, ETS2, NID1, SMARCD1, and CD44) were upregulated in OV-90 cells exposed to ascites, allowing a nonstimulatory effect on cell migration. These findings were validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. In addition, the gene expression of IRS2 and MLXIP each correlated with prognosis when their expression was assessed in an independent set of primary cultures established from ovarian ascites. This study revealed novel candidates that may play a role in ovarian cancer cell migration.     

microRNA-21 表达水平对新疆地区食管癌患者早期诊断及预后评估的临床价值

目的:探讨microRNA-21表达水平对新疆地区食管癌早期诊断及预后评估的临床价值。方法:收集我院收治的100例食管癌患者,其中哈萨克族患者50例,汉族患者50例,采用RT-PCR以及RT-qPCR的方法对患者血清microRNA-21表达水平进行检测并比较。结果:食管癌患者癌组织中microRNA-21表达水平均高于癌旁组织,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05);有淋巴结转移、ⅡB+Ⅲ期、低分化癌组织中的miRNA-21相对表达量高于无淋巴结转移、I+ⅡA期以及高分化癌组织患者,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05);miRNA-21在不同民族、性别、年龄分组中表达无明显差异(P0.05)。结论:microRNA-21表达水平对新疆地区食管癌患者癌组织中表达水平较高,在有淋巴转移、ⅡB+Ⅲ期以及低分化癌组织中表达水平较高,民族、性别以及年龄对microRNA-21水平的影响较小,因此microRNA-21检测对食管癌的早期诊断及预后判断具有指导意义。     

Ovarian Cancer Spheroid Cells with Stem Cell-Like Properties Contribute to Tumor Generation,Metastasis and Chemotherapy Resistance through Hypoxia-Resistant Metabolism

Cells with sphere forming capacity, spheroid cells, are present in the malignant ascites of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and represent a significant impediment to efficacious treatment due to their putative role in progression, metastasis and chemotherapy resistance. The exact mechanisms that underlie EOC metastasis and drug resistance are not clear. Understanding the biology of sphere forming cells may contribute to the identification of novel therapeutic opportunities for metastatic EOC. Here we generated spheroid cells from human ovarian cancer cell lines and primary ovarian cancer. Xenoengraftment of as few as 2000 dissociated spheroid cells into immune-deficient mice allowed full recapitulation of the original tumor, whereas >10⁵ parent tumor cells remained non-tumorigenic. The spheroid cells were found to be enriched for cells with cancer stem cell-like characteristics such as upregulation of stem cell genes, self-renewal, high proliferative and differentiation potential, and high aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity. Furthermore, spheroid cells were more aggressive in growth, migration, invasion, scratch recovery, clonogenic survival, anchorage-independent growth, and more resistant to chemotherapy in vitro. ¹³C-glucose metabolic studies revealed that spheroid cells route glucose predominantly to anaerobic glycolysis and pentose cycle to the detriment of re-routing glucose for anabolic purposes. These metabolic properties of sphere forming cells appear to confer increased resistance to apoptosis and contribute to more aggressive tumor growth. Collectively, we demonstrated that spheroid cells with cancer stem cell-like characteristics contributed to tumor generation, progression and chemotherapy resistance. This study provides insight into the relationship between tumor dissemination and metabolic attributes of human cancer stem cells and has clinical implications for cancer therapy.     

High-Throughput miRNA and mRNA Sequencing of Paired Colorectal Normal,Tumor and Metastasis Tissues and Bioinformatic Modeling of miRNA-1 Therapeutic Applications

MiRNAs are discussed as diagnostic and therapeutic molecules. However, effective miRNA drug treatments with miRNAs are, so far, hampered by the complexity of the miRNA networks. To identify potential miRNA drugs in colorectal cancer, we profiled miRNA and mRNA expression in matching normal, tumor and metastasis tissues of eight patients by Illumina sequencing. We validated six miRNAs in a large tissue screen containing 16 additional tumor entities and identified miRNA-1, miRNA-129, miRNA-497 and miRNA-215 as constantly de-regulated within the majority of cancers. Of these, we investigated miRNA-1 as representative in a systems-biology simulation of cellular cancer models implemented in PyBioS and assessed the effects of depletion as well as overexpression in terms of miRNA-1 as a potential treatment option. In this system, miRNA-1 treatment reverted the disease phenotype with different effectiveness among the patients. Scoring the gene expression changes obtained through mRNA-Seq from the same patients we show that the combination of deep sequencing and systems biological modeling can help to identify patient-specific responses to miRNA treatments. We present this data as guideline for future pre-clinical assessments of new and personalized therapeutic options.     

MicroRNA 135a Suppresses Lymph Node Metastasis through Down-Regulation of ROCK1 in Early Gastric Cancer

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in gastric cancer progression and metastasis. This study investigated the role of miRNA-135a in early gastric cancer (EGC) including lymph node (LN) metastasis. We examined the correlation between miRNA-135a expression and clinical outcomes in 59 patients who underwent surgery for EGC. Using gastric cancer cell lines, we performed functional and target gene analyses. miRNA-135a expression was down-regulated in 33.9% of patients. These patients showed a significantly more advanced stage (TNM stage≥IB, 35.0% vs. 12.8%, p = 0.045) and higher rate of LN metastasis (30.0% vs. 5.1%, p = 0.014) than those with up-regulation of miRNA-135a expression. In a multivariate analysis, down-regulation of miRNA-135a was an independent risk factor for LN metastasis (adjusted odds ratio, 8.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.08–59.81; p = 0.042). Functional analyses using gastric cancer cell lines showed that miRNA-135a suppressed cell viability, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, cell invasion, and migration. ROCK1 was a target of miRNA-135a and its expression was inversely correlated to that of miRNA-135a. ROCK1 expression was significantly increased in EGC patients with LN metastasis than in those without LN metastasis. Our results confirm the tumor-suppressive role of miRNA-135a, and demonstrate its role in LN metastasis in EGC. miRNA-135a and its target gene ROCK1 may be novel therapeutic and prognostic targets for EGC.     

Cell-Free MicroRNA Expression Profiles in Malignant Effusion Associated with Patient Survival in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) expression is altered in cancer cells, and miRNAs could serve as diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for cancer patients. This study was designed to analyze circulating miRNAs expression in the malignant pleural effusion (MPE) and their association with patient survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

Pleural effusion from 184 patients with NSCLC and MPE were collected. MiRNA microarray and bioinformatics interpretation were used to evaluate miRNA expression profiles in 10 NSCLC patients with different survival prognosis. Associations were validated in 184 patients (randomly classified into training and validation set with equal number in each group) using quantitative RT-PCR. Risk scores were formulated based on the expression signature of miRNAs. Clinical data, such as patient survival, were collected for correlation analysis.

Results

Thirty-three miRNAs were found to be altered more than two-fold by microarray in malignant effusions between longer-survival and shorter-survival groups, and levels of five miRNAs (miRNA-93, miRNA-100, miRNA-134, miRNA-151 and miRNA-345) were significantly associated with overall survival. High expression of miR-100 and low expression of miRNA-93, miRNA-134, miRNA-151 and miRNA-345 were associated with poor survival in both the training and validation cohort. Patients with high risk scores had overall poor survival compared to the patients with low risk scores. Risk score was an independent predictor of patient survival.

Conclusions

Expression patterns of miRNAs are systematically altered in MPE of patient with NSCLC. The five miRNA signature from the effusion may serve as a predictor for the overall survival of patients with lung cancers.