Plasma miR-30a-5p as an early novel noninvasive diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for lung cancer

Exploring the Potential of Non-Coding RNAs as Liquid Biopsy Biomarkers for Lung Cancer Screening: A Literature Review

Lung cancer represent the leading cause of cancer mortality, so several efforts have been focused on the development of a screening program. To address the issue of high overdiagnosis and false positive rates associated to LDCT-based screening, there is a need for new diagnostic biomarkers, with liquid biopsy ncRNAs detection emerging as a promising approach. In this scenario, this work provides an updated summary of the literature evidence about the role of non-coding RNAs in lung cancer screening. A literature search on PubMed was performed including studies which investigated liquid biopsy non-coding RNAs biomarker lung cancer patients and a control cohort. Micro RNAs were the most widely studied biomarkers in this setting but some preliminary evidence was found also for other non-coding RNAs, suggesting that a multi-biomarker based liquid biopsy approach could enhance their efficacy in the screening context. However, further studies are needed in order to optimize detection techniques as well as diagnostic accuracy before introducing novel biomarkers in the early diagnosis setting.

Role of miRNAs In Cancer Diagnostics And Therapy: A Recent Update

The discovery of miRNAs has been one of the revolutionary developments and has led to the advent of new diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities for the management of cancer. In this regard, miRNA dysregulation has been shown to play a critical role in various stages of tumorigenesis, including tumor invasion, metastasis as well as angiogenesis. Therefore, miRNA profiling can provide accurate fingerprints for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic platforms. This review discusses the recent discoveries of miRNA-based tools for early detection of cancer as well as disease monitoring in cancers that are common, like breast, lung, hepatic, colorectal, oral and brain cancer. Based on the involvement of miRNA in different cancers as oncogenic miRNA or tumor suppressor miRNA, the treatment with miRNA inhibitors or mimics is recommended. However, the stability and targeted delivery of miRNA remain the major limitations of miRNA delivery. In relation to this, several nanoparticle-based delivery systems have been reported which have effectively delivered the miRNA mimics or inhibitors and showed the potential for transforming these advanced delivery systems from bench to bedside in the treatment of cancer metastasis and chemoresistance. Based on this, we attempted to uncover recently reported advanced nanotherapeutic approaches to deliver the miRNAs in the management of different cancers.

Increased microRNA-30a levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid as a diagnostic biomarker for lung cancer

Background

MicroRNA-30a (miRNA-30a) levels have been shown to increase in the plasma of lung cancer patients. Herein, we evaluated the miRNA-30a levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of lung cancer patients as a potential biomarker for lung cancer diagnosis.

Methods

BALF miRNA-30a expression of 174 subjects was quantified using quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and compared between lung cancer patients and control patients with benign lung diseases. Moreover, its diagnostic value was evaluated by performing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

Results

The relative BALF miRNA-30a expression was significantly higher in the lung cancer patients than in the controls (0.74 ±  0.55 versus 0.07 ±  0.48, respectively, p < 0.001) as well as in lung cancer patients with stage I–IIA disease than in those with stage IIB–IV disease (0.98 ±  0.64 versus 0.66 ±  0.54, respectively, p < 0.05). Additionally, miRNA-30a distinguished benign lung diseases from lung cancers, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.822. ROC analysis also revealed an AUC of 0.875 for the Youden index-based optimal cut-off points for stage I–IIA adenocarcinoma. Thus, increased miRNA-30a levels in BALF may be a useful biomarker for non-small-cell lung cancer diagnosis.

The Role of Liquid Biopsy in Early Diagnosis of Lung Cancer

Liquid biopsy is an emerging technology with a potential role in the screening and early detection of lung cancer. Several liquid biopsy-derived biomarkers have been identified and are currently under ongoing investigation. In this article, we review the available data on the use of circulating biomarkers for the early detection of lung cancer, focusing on the circulating tumor cells, circulating cell-free DNA, circulating micro-RNAs, tumor-derived exosomes, and tumor-educated platelets, providing an overview of future potential applicability in the clinical practice. While several biomarkers have shown exciting results, diagnostic performance and clinical applicability is still limited. The combination of different biomarkers, as well as their combination with other diagnostic tools show great promise, although further research is still required to define and validate the role of liquid biopsies in clinical practice.

miRNAs in lung cancer. A systematic review identifies predictive and prognostic miRNA candidates for precision medicine in lung cancer

Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide and miRNAs play a key role in LC development. To better diagnose LC and to predict drug treatment responses we evaluated 228 articles encompassing 16,697 patients and 12,582 healthy controls. Based on the criteria of ≥3 independent studies and a sensitivity and specificity of >0.8 we found blood-borne miR-20a, miR-10b, miR-150, and miR-223 to be excellent diagnostic biomarkers for non-small cell LC whereas miR-205 is specific for squamous cell carcinoma. The systematic review also revealed 38 commonly regulated miRNAs in tumor tissue and the circulation, thus enabling the prediction of histological subtypes of LC. Moreover, theranostic biomarker candidates with proven responsiveness to checkpoint inhibitor treatments were identified, notably miR-34a, miR-93, miR-106b, miR-181a, miR-193a-3p, and miR-375. Conversely, miR-103a-3p, miR-152, miR-152-3p, miR-15b, miR-16, miR-194, miR-34b, and miR-506 influence programmed cell death-ligand 1 and programmed cell death-1 receptor expression, therefore providing a rationale for the development of molecularly targeted therapies. Furthermore, miR-21, miR-25, miR-27b, miR-19b, miR-125b, miR-146a, and miR-210 predicted response to platinum-based treatments. We also highlight controversial reports on specific miRNAs. In conclusion, we report diagnostic miRNA biomarkers for in-depth clinical evaluation. Furthermore, in an effort to avoid unnecessary toxicity we propose predictive biomarkers. The biomarker candidates support personalized treatment decisions of LC patients and await their confirmation in randomized clinical trials.

Bioinformatics analysis of prognostic value and prospective pathway signal of miR-30a in ovarian cancer

Objective

MicroRNAs (MiRNAs) is thought to play a critical role in the initiation and progress of ovarian cancer (OC). Although miRNAs has been widely recognized in ovarian cancer, the role of hsa-miR-30a-5p (miR-30a) in OC has not been fully elucidated.

Methods

Three mRNA datasets of normal ovarian tissue and OC, GSE18520,GSE14407 and GSE36668, were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) to find the differentially expressed gene (DEG). Then the target genes of hsa-miR-30a-5p were predicted by miRWALK3.0 and TargetScan. Then, the gene overlap between DEG and the predicted target genes of miR-30a in OC was analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was conducted by STRING and Cytoscape, and the effect of HUB gene on the outcome of OC was analyzed.

Results

A common pattern of up-regulation of miR-30a in OC was found. A total of 225 DEG, were identified, both OC-related and miR-30a-related. Many DEG are enriched in the interactions of intracellular matrix tissue, ion binding and biological process regulation. Among the 10 major Hub genes analyzed by PPI, five Hub genes were significantly related to the overall poor survival of OC patients, in which the low expression of ESR1,MAPK10, Tp53 and the high expression of YKT,NSF were related to poor prognosis of OC.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that miR-30a is of significance for the biological progress of OC.

Maimendong and Qianjinweijing Tang (Jin formula) suppresses lung cancer by regulation of miR-149-3p

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Maimendong and Qianjinweijing Tang (Jin formula), a classic Chinese formula, can enhance therapeutic efficacy and reduce adverse effects in patients with lung cancer.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To evaluate the anti-lung cancer effect of Jin formula in vivo and in vitro, and to explore the role of microRNA (miRNA) in the anti-lung cancer mechanism of Jin formula.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Cell survival was determined via a colorimetric method, and apoptotic condition was revealed by flow cytometric analysis. Cell migration and invasion were detected by scratch and transwell assays. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay was applied to measure the changes of miRNA expression. Pathological histology of lung tissues were assessed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. Immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting were used to detect the expression of marker proteins of Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The relationship between miR-149-3p and MYC associated zinc finger protein (MAZ) was verified using a dual-luciferase reporter assay system.

RESULTS

Our findings demonstrated the anti-cancer effect of Jin formula in vitro, and revealed that Jin formula could suppress the proliferation, migration and invasion of human lung cancer A549 and H1299 cells. We also confirmed the capability of Jin formula to reduce tumor growth through the up-regulation of miR-149-3p and down-regulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in animal models. qRT-PCR analysis in vitro further confirmed a dose-dependent increase of miR-149-3p by treatment with Jin formula. Functional studies identified MAZ as a downstream target of miR-149-3p. Overexpression of miR-149-3p inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion and induced apoptosis in A549 and H1299 cells, similar to our findings on the effects of Jin formula treatment. In contrast, inhibiting the expression of miR-149-3p reversed the anti-cancer effects of Jin formula. Additionally, we revealed that miR-149-3p was involved in the anti-cancer effects of Jin formula, at least in part, by inhibiting MAZ expression and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling cascade.

CONCLUSION

Our study illustrated that Jin formula suppressed the development of lung cancer and the mechanism may be associated with the miR-149-3p/MAZ/Wnt/β-catenin axis.