Clinical significance of miR-140-5p and miR-193b expression in patients with breast cancer and relationship to IGFBP5

The functional role of IGFBP5 in breast cancer is complicated. Experimental and bioinformatics studies have shown that IGFBP5 is targeted by miR-140-5p and miR-193b, although this has not yet been proven in clinical samples. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of miR-140-5p and miR-193b in breast cancer and adjacent normal tissue and assess its correlation with IGFBP5 and the clinicopathological characteristics of the tumors. IGFBP5 protein expression was analyzed immunohistochemically and IGFBP5, miR-140 and miR-193b mRNA expression levels were analyzed with real-time RT-PCR. Tumor tissue had higher miR-140-5p expression than adjacent normal tissue (p = 0.015). Samples with no immunohistochemical staining for IGFBP5 showed increased miR-140-5p expression (p = 0.009). miR-140-5p expression was elevated in invasive ductal carcinomas (p = 0.002), whereas basal-like tumors had decreased expression of miR-140-5p compared to other tumors (p = 0.008). Lymph node-positive samples showed an approximately 13-fold increase in miR-140-5p expression compared to lymph node-negative tissue (p = 0.049). These findings suggest that miR-140-5p, but not miR-193b, could be an important determinant of IGFBP5 expression and clinical phenotype in breast cancer patients. Further studies are needed to clarify the expressional regulation of IGFBP5 by miR-140-5p.     

AIMP3 inhibits cell growth and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma through activating a miR-96-5p-AIMP3-p53 axis

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase-interacting multifunctional protein-3 (AIMP3) is a tumour suppressor, however, the roles of AIMP3 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are not explored yet. Here, we reported that AIMP3 significantly inhibited the cell growth and metastasis of NSCLC (lung adenocarcinoma) in vitro and in vivo. We have firstly identified that AIMP3 was down-regulated in human NSCLC tissues compared with adjacent normal lung tissues using immunohistochemistry and western blot assays. Overexpression of AIMP3 markedly suppressed the proliferation and migration of cancer cells in a p53-dependent manner. Furthermore, we observed that AIMP3 significantly suppressed tumour growth and metastasis of A549 cells in xenograft nude mice. Mechanically, we identified that AIMP3 was a direct target of miR-96-5p, and we also observed that there was a negative correlation between AIMP3 and miR-96-5p expression in paired NSCLC clinic samples. Ectopic miR-96-5p expression promoted the proliferation and migration of cancer cells in vitro and tumour growth and metastasis in vivo which partially depended on AIMP3. Taken together, our results demonstrated that the axis of miR-96-5p-AIMP3-p53 played an important role in lung adenocarcinoma, which may provide a new strategy for the diagnosis and treatment of NSCLC.     

miRNA expression in colon polyps provides evidence for a multihit model of colon cancer

Changes in miRNA expression are a common feature in colon cancer. Those changes occurring in the transition from normal to adenoma and from adenoma to carcinoma, however, have not been well defined. Additionally, miRNA changes among tumor subgroups of colon cancer have also not been adequately evaluated. In this study, we examined the global miRNA expression in 315 samples that included 52 normal colonic mucosa, 41 tubulovillous adenomas, 158 adenocarcinomas with proficient DNA mismatch repair (pMMR) selected for stage and age of onset, and 64 adenocarcinomas with defective DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) selected for sporadic (n = 53) and inherited colon cancer (n = 11). Sporadic dMMR tumors all had MLH1 inactivation due to promoter hypermethylation. Unsupervised PCA and cluster analysis demonstrated that normal colon tissue, adenomas, pMMR carcinomas and dMMR carcinomas were all clearly discernable. The majority of miRNAs that were differentially expressed between normal and polyp were also differentially expressed with a similar magnitude in the comparison of normal to both the pMMR and dMMR tumor groups, suggesting a stepwise progression for transformation from normal colon to carcinoma. Among the miRNAs demonstrating the largest fold up- or down-regulated changes (≥4), four novel (miR-31, miR-1, miR-9 and miR-99a) and two previously reported (miR-137 and miR-135b) miRNAs were identified in the normal/adenoma comparison. All but one of these (miR-99a) demonstrated similar expression differences in the two normal/carcinoma comparisons, suggesting that these early tumor changes are important in both the pMMR- and dMMR-derived cancers. The comparison between pMMR and dMMR tumors identified four miRNAs (miR-31, miR-552, miR-592 and miR-224) with statistically significant expression differences (≥2-fold change).     

非小细胞肺癌组织中mir-483-5p的差异表达

目的:寻找非小细胞肺癌组织中微小RNA(miRNA)表达谱的差异,并鉴定非小细胞肺癌组织与癌旁组织差异表达的miRNA。方法:应用miRNA芯片分别检测非小细胞肺癌组织与癌旁组织的miRNA表达丰度,并比较两者中差异表达的miRNA;挑选mir-483-5p通过荧光定量PCR进行验证。结果:非小细胞肺癌组织与癌旁组织检测的miRNA表达谱存在较大差异。其中,鳞癌组织中有16条miRNA上调,22条miRNA下调;腺癌组织中有40条miRNA上调,51条miRNA下调。对mir-483-5p进行了定量PCR验证,发现其在非小细胞肺癌组织中的表达丰度显著高于癌旁的正常组织。结论:mir-483-5p在非小细胞肺癌组织中高表达。     

MicroRNA-429 induces tumorigenesis of human non-small cell lung cancer cells and targets multiple tumor suppressor genes

Lung cancer is the major cause of cancer death globally. MicroRNAs are evolutionally conserved small noncoding RNAs that are critical for the regulation of gene expression. Aberrant expression of microRNA (miRNA) has been implicated in cancer initiation and progression. In this study, we demonstrated that the expression of miR-429 are often upregulated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with normal lung tissues, and its expression level is also increased in NSCLC cell lines compared with normal lung cells. Overexpression of miR-429 in A549 NSCLC cells significantly promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion, whereas inhibition of miR-429 inhibits these effects. Furthermore, we demonstrated that miR-429 down-regulates PTEN, RASSF8 and TIMP2 expression by directly targeting the 3′-untranslated region of these target genes. Taken together, our results suggest that miR-429 plays an important role in promoting the proliferation and metastasis of NSCLC cells and is a potential target for NSCLC therapy.     

Estrogen receptor beta promotes lung cancer invasion via increasing CXCR4 expression

Lung cancer is one of the most lethal malignant tumors in the world. The high recurrence and mortality rate make it urgent for scientists and clinicians to find new targets for better treatment of lung cancer. Early studies indicated that estrogen receptor β (ERβ) might impact the progression of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the detailed mechanisms, especially its linkage to the CXCR4-mediated cell invasion, remain unclear. Here we found that ERβ could promote NSCLC cell invasion via increasing the circular RNA (circRNA), circ-TMX4, expression via directly binding to the 5′ promoter region of its host gene TMX4. ERβ-promoted circ-TMX4 could then sponge and inhibit the micro RNA (miRNA, miR), miR-622, expression, which can then result in increasing the CXCR4 messenger RNA translation via a reduced miRNA binding to its 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR). The preclinical study using an in vivo mouse model with orthotopic xenografts of NSCLC cells confirmed the in vitro data, and the human NSCLC database analysis and tissue staining also confirmed the linkage of ERβ/miR-622/CXCR4 signaling to the NSCLC progression. Together, our findings suggest that ERβ can promote NSCLC cell invasion via altering the ERβ/circ-TMX4/miR-622/CXCR4 signaling, and targeting this newly circ-TMX4/miR-622/CXCR4 signaling may help us find new treatment strategies to better suppress NSCLC progression.Subject terms: Non-small-cell lung cancer, Metastasis     

MicroRNA-193b modulates proliferation, migration, and invasion of non-small cell lung cancer cells

MicroRNAs have been reported to be closely related to the development of human lung cancers. However, the functions of microRNAs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain largely undefined. Here, we investigated the role of microRNA-193b (miR-193b) in NSCLC. Our data showed that miR-193b was markedly down-regulated in NSCLC cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. The NSCLC cell line (A549) transfected with the miR-193b exhibited significantly decreased proliferation, migration, and invasion capacities when compared with the control cells. In contrast, inhibition of miR-193b increased the proliferation, migration, and invasion of A549 cells. Moreover, miR-193b repressed the expressions of cyclin D1 and urokinase-type plasminogen activator in A549 cells. These data suggest that miR-193b is a tumor suppressor in NSCLC.     

Knocking down MiR-15a expression promotes the occurrence and development and induces the EMT of NSCLC cells in vitro

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a major type of lung cancer, with the highest mortality rate in all cancers. For all stages of NSCLC, the five-year survival is less than fifteen percent. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a significant process in tumor occurrence and development, in which microRNAs may play an important role. In many cancers, microRNA-15's family member can act as suppressors or oncogenes of tumors; however, the relation between these microRNAs and EMT in lung cancer remains unclear. According to our study, miR-15a expression decreased in tumor tissues compared with than that in adjacent tissue samples. Knocking down miR-15a expression in NSCLC cells inhibited apoptosis and facilitated cell proliferation and invasion, and. Moreover, down-regulating miR-15a decreased the expression of an EMT-associated protein, E-cadherin, while increased those of vimentin, N-cadherin, and slug.     

Differential expression of miRNAs in colorectal cancer: comparison of paired tumor tissue and adjacent normal mucosa using high-throughput sequencing

We present the results of a global study of dysregulated miRNAs in paired samples of normal mucosa and tumor from eight patients with colorectal cancer. Although there is existing data of miRNA contribution to colorectal tumorigenesis, these studies are typically small to medium scale studies of cell lines or non-paired tumor samples. The present study is to our knowledge unique in two respects. Firstly, the normal and adjacent tumor tissue samples are paired, thus taking into account the baseline differences between individuals when testing for differential expression. Secondly, we use high-throughput sequencing, thus enabling a comprehensive survey of all miRNAs expressed in the tissues. We use Illumina sequencing technology to perform sequencing and two different tools to statistically test for differences in read counts per gene between samples: edgeR when using the pair information and DESeq when ignoring this information, i.e., treating tumor and normal samples as independent groups. We identify 37 miRNAs that are significantly dysregulated in both statistical approaches, 19 down-regulated and 18 up-regulated. Some of these miRNAs are previously published as potential regulators in colorectal adenocarcinomas such as miR-1, miR-96 and miR-145. Our comprehensive survey of differentially expressed miRNAs thus confirms some existing findings. We have also discovered 16 dysregulated miRNAs, which to our knowledge have not previously been associated with colorectal carcinogenesis: the following significantly down-regulated miR-490-3p, -628-3p/-5p, -1297, -3151, -3163, -3622a-5p, -3656 and the up-regulated miR-105, -549, -1269, -1827, -3144-3p, -3177, -3180-3p, -4326. Although the study is preliminary with only eight patients included, we believe the results add to the present knowledge on miRNA dysregulation in colorectal carcinogenesis. As such the results would serve as a robust training set for validation of potential biomarkers in a larger cohort study. Finally, we also present data supporting the hypothesis that there are differences in miRNA expression between adenocarcinomas and neuroendocrine tumors of the colon.     

Downregulation of miR-33b promotes non-small cell lung cancer cell growth through reprogramming glucose metabolism miR-33b regulates non-small cell lung cancer cell growth

Glucose metabolism is a common target for cancer regulation and microRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of this process. Here we aim to investigate a tumor-suppressing miRNA, miR-33b, in regulating the glucose metabolism of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In our study, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) showed that miR-33b was downregulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines, which was correlated with increased cell proliferation and colony formation. Overexpression of miR-33b through miR-33b mimics transfection suppressed NSCLC proliferation, colony formation, and induced cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. Meanwhile, miR-33b overexpression inhibited glucose metabolism in NSCLC cells. Luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miR-33b directly binds to the 3′-untranslated region of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA). qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis showed that miR-33b downregulated the expression of LDHA. Moreover, introducing LDHA mRNA into cells over-expressing miR-33b attenuated the inhibitory effect of miR-33b on the growth and glucose metabolism in NSCLC cells. Taken together, these results confirm that miR-33b is an anti-oncogenic miRNA, which inhibits NSCLC cell growth by targeting LDHA through reprogramming glucose metabolism.     

Two Panels of Plasma MicroRNAs as Non-Invasive Biomarkers for Prediction of Recurrence in Resectable NSCLC

The diagnosis of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) at an early stage, as well as better prediction of outcome remains clinically challenging due to the lack of specific and robust non-invasive markers. The discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs), particularly those found in the bloodstream, has opened up new perspectives for tumor diagnosis and prognosis. The aim of our study was to determine whether expression profiles of specific miRNAs in plasma could accurately discriminate between NSCLC patients and controls, and whether they are able to predict the prognosis of resectable NSCLC patients. We therefore evaluated a series of seventeen NSCLC-related miRNAs by quantitative real-time (qRT)-PCR in plasma from 52 patients with I-IIIA stages NSCLC, 10 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 20-age, sex and smoking status-matched healthy individuals. We identified an eleven-plasma miRNA panel that could distinguish NSCLC patients from healthy subjects (AUC = 0.879). A six-plasma miRNA panel was able to discriminate between NSCLC patients and COPD patients (AUC = 0.944). Furthermore, we identified a three-miRNA plasma signature (high miR-155-5p, high miR-223-3p, and low miR-126-3p) that significantly associated with a higher risk for progression in adenocarcinoma patients. In addition, a three-miRNA plasma panel (high miR-20a-5p, low miR-152-3p, and low miR-199a-5p) significantly predicted survival of squamous cell carcinoma patients. In conclusion, we identified two plasma miRNA expression profiles that may be useful for predicting the outcome of patients with resectable NSCLC.     

Altered miRNA Expression is Associated with Differentiation, Invasion, and Metastasis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) in Patients from Huaian, China

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the leading malignancy in Huaian, China. Recently, emerging studies have suggested that an aberrant microRNA (miRNA) expression signature exists in ESCC. However, there is discordant information available on specific miRNA expression in patients from different regions. In this study, we identified 12 miRNAs that are differentially expressed in patients with ESCC from Huaian, China. Among these miRNAs that displayed unique miRNA expression signatures, miR-1, miR-29c, miR-100, miR-133a, miR-133b, miR-143, miR-145, and miR-195 were downregulated, and miR-7, miR-21, miR-223, and miR-1246 were upregulated in cancerous tissue compared with the adjacent normal tissue. Bioinformatics analyses identified the major biological processes and signaling pathways that are targeted by these differentially expressed miRNAs. Accordingly, miR-29c, miR-100, miR-133a, and miR-133b were found to be involved in invasion and metastasis of ESCC, and miR-7 and miR-21 were found to be related to the differentiation of ESCC. Thus, our data present new evidence for the important roles of miRNAs in ESCC.     

An integrated analysis of miRNA and mRNA expressions in non-small cell lung cancers

Using DNA microarrays, we generated both mRNA and miRNA expression data from 6 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues and their matching normal control from adjacent tissues to identify potential miRNA markers for diagnostics. We demonstrated that hsa-miR-96 is significantly and consistently up-regulated in all 6 NSCLCs. We validated this result in an independent set of 35 paired tumors and their adjacent normal tissues, as well as their sera that are collected before surgical resection or chemotherapy, and the results suggested that hsa-miR-96 may play an important role in NSCLC development and has great potential to be used as a noninvasive marker for diagnosing NSCLC. We predicted potential miRNA target mRNAs based on different methods (TargetScan and miRanda). Further classification of miRNA regulated genes based on their relationship with miRNAs revealed that hsa-miR-96 and certain other miRNAs tend to down-regulate their target mRNAs in NSCLC development, which have expression levels permissive to direct interaction between miRNAs and their target mRNAs. In addition, we identified a significant correlation of miRNA regulation with genes coincide with high density of CpG islands, which suggests that miRNA may represent a primary regulatory mechanism governing basic cellular functions and cell differentiations, and such mechanism may be complementary to DNA methylation in repressing or activating gene expression.     

miR-182靶向抑制FBXW7表达影响非小细胞肺癌细胞增殖研究

目的:研究microRNA-182(miR-182)在非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)组织中的表达,并探讨其对NSCLC细胞增殖的影响及作用机制。方法:采用实时荧光定量PCR (qRT-PCR)检测miR-182在11例NSCLC及相应癌旁组织中的表达情况;Western blot检测FBXW7,c-Jun,c-Myc及cyclin D蛋白的表达;将miR-182模拟物,抑制物及相应空白对照瞬时转染H460细胞后,以细胞增殖与活性检测和克隆形成实验检测细胞系的增殖情况;流式细胞术检测细胞周期和凋亡变化;荧光素酶报告基因实验证实miR-182对FBXW7的靶向性作用。结果:NSCLC组织中miR-182的相对表达水平显著高于癌旁组织(P0.05)。转染组与对照组相比,H460细胞生长、克隆形成能力显著增强,细胞周期进程加快,细胞凋亡受到抑制(P0.05)。在NSCLC组织中,FBXW7蛋白的表达水平明显低于癌旁组织(P0.05)。miR-182 mimics显著降低野生型FBXW7质粒荧光素酶的活性,然而将结合位点突变后,miR-182 mimics则不再影响荧光素酶的活性。结论:miR-182在NSCLC组织中高表达,与FBXW7之间存在靶向关系,通过下调FBXW7蛋白表达促进NSCLC细胞的增殖,参与肿瘤的发生发展,预示其可能成为一种潜在的生物标志和治疗靶点。     

Involvement of methylation of group of miRNA genes in regulation of expression of <Emphasis Type="Italic">RAR-beta2</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">NKIRAS1</Emphasis> target genes in lung cancer

To date, there are more than 2000 known human miRNAs, each of which may be involved in the regulation of hundreds of protein-coding target genes. In turn, the methylation of CpG islands affects the miRNA gene expression. Our aim was to evaluate the role of methylation in the regulation of miRNA gene expression and, consequently, in the regulation of the expression of target genes in primary lung tumors. Using a common collection of samples of non-small-cell lung cancer, we have performed a comprehensive study, including an analysis of the methylation status and level of expression of some miRNA genes and their potential target genes on chromosome 3, i.e., RAR-beta2 and NKIRAS1. The increased frequency of methylation in lung tumors compared to histologically normal tissue was revealed for miR-9-1 and miR-34b/c genes with significant statistics (P < 0.05 by Fisher’s exact test) and for miR-9-3 and miR-193a was marginally significant (P < 0.1). A significant correlation was revealed between the changes in methylation and level of expression of miR-9-1 gene (P ≈ 5 × 10⁻¹² by Spearman) in lung tumors, which suggests the role of methylation in the regulation of expression of these miRNA genes. Furthermore, a statistically significant negative correlation (P ≈ 3 × 10⁻¹² to 5 × 10⁻¹³ by Spearman) was found between changes in the levels of expression of miR-9-1 and miR-17 and RAR-beta2 target genes, as well as between the changes in the level of expression of miR-17 and NKIRAS1 that were not previously analyzed. The inverse relationship between the levels of expression of miRNA genes and their target genes is consistent with the known mechanism of the suppression of the expression of protein-coding genes under the action of miRNA. For the first time, significant correlations (P ≈ 3 × 10⁻¹⁰ to 4 × 10⁻¹³ by Spearman) were shown between changes in the methylation status of miRNA genes (miR-9-1, miR-9-3, miR-34b/c, miR-193a) and the level of expression of the RAR-beta2 target gene and changes in the methylation status of miR-34b/c, and miR-193a and the level of expression of the NKIRAS1 target gene in the primary lung tumors, which suggests the possibility of indirect effects of the methylation of miRNA genes on the level of expression of target genes.     

miR-141 and miR-200c as Markers of Overall Survival in Early Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Adenocarcinoma

Background

Several treatments in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are histology-dependent, and the need for histology-related markers is increasing. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are promising molecular markers in multiple cancers and show differences in expression depending on histological subtype. The miRNA family miR-200 has been associated with the regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal (EMT)/mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET). EMT involves profound phenotypic changes that include the loss of cell-cell adhesion, the loss of cell polarity, and the acquisition of migratory and invasive properties that facilitates metastasis. A dual role for the miR-200 family in the prognosis of several tumors has been related to tumor cell origin. However, the prognostic role and function of miR-200 family in early-stage NSCLC adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) have not been well established.

Methods

miRNA expression was determined using TaqMan assays in 155 tumors from resected NSCLC patients. Functional studies were conducted in three NSCLC cell lines: H23, A-549 and HCC-44.

Results

High miR-200c expression was associated with shorter overall survival (OS) in the entire cohort (p = 0.024). High miR-200c (p = 0.0004) and miR-141 (p = 0.009) expression correlated with shorter OS in adenocarcinoma – but not in SCC. In the multivariate analysis, a risk score based on miR-141 and miR-200c expression emerged as an independent prognostic factor for OS in the entire cohort (OR, 2.787; p = 0.033) and in adenocarcinoma patients (OR, 10.649; p = 0.002). Functional analyses showed that miR-200c, was related to mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) and affected cell migration and E-cadherin levels, while overexpression of miR-141 reduced KLF6 protein levels and produced an increase of secretion of VEGFA in vitro (H23, p = 0.04; A-549, p = 0.03; HCC-44, p = 0.02) and was associated with higher blood microvessel density in patient tumor samples (p<0.001).

Conclusion

High miR-141 and miR-200c expression are associated with shorter OS in NSCLC patients with adenocarcinoma through MET and angiogenesis.     

Comparative profiling of miRNA expression of lung adenocarcinoma cells in two-dimensional and three-dimensional cultures

Three-dimensional organotypic culture using reconstituted basement membrane matrix (rBM 3-D) is an invaluable tool to characterize morphogenesis of epithelial cells and to elucidate the tumor-modulating actions of extracellular matrix. microRNAs (miRNA) are a novel class of tumor modulating genes. A substantial amount of investigation of miRNAs in cancer is carried out using monolayer 2-D culture on plastic substratum, which lacks a consideration of the matrix-mediated regulation of miRNAs. In the current study we compared the expression of miRNAs in rBM 3-D and 2-D cultures of two lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. Our findings revealed a profound difference in miRNA profiles between 2-D and rBM 3-D cultures of lung adenocarcinoma cells. The rBM 3-D culture-specific miRNA profile was highlighted with higher expression of the tumor suppressive miRNAs (i.e., miR-200 family) and lower expression of the oncogenic miRNAs (i.e., miR-17–92 cluster and miR-21) than that of 2-D culture. Moreover, the expression pattern of miR-17, miR-21, and miR-200a in rBM 3-D culture correlated with the expression of their targets and acinar morphogenesis, a differentiation behavior of lung epithelial cells in rBM 3-D culture. Over-expression of miR-21 suppressed its target PTEN and disrupted acinar morphogenesis. In summary, we provide the first miRNA profile of lung adenocarcinoma cells in rBM 3-D culture with respect to acinar morphogenesis. These results indicate that rBM 3-D culture is essential to a comprehensive understanding of the miRNA biology in lung epithelial cells pertinent to lung adenocarcinoma.