Combined detection of plasma miR-127-3p and HE4 improves the diagnostic efficacy of breast cancer

The role of miRNAs as biomarkers in breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the second most common cause of deaths reported in women worldwide, and therefore there is a need to identify BC patients at an early stage as timely diagnosis would help in effective management and appropriate monitoring of patients. This will allow for proper patient monitoring and effective care. However, the absence of a particular biomarker for BC early diagnosis and surveillance makes it difficult to accomplish these objectives. miRNAs have been identified as master regulators of the molecular pathways that are emphasized in various tumors and that lead to the advancement of malignancies. Small, non-coding RNA molecules known as miRNAs target particular mRNAs to control the expression of genes. miRNAs dysregulation has been linked to the start and development of a number of human malignancies, including BC, since there is compelling evidence that miRNAs can function as tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes. The current level of knowledge on the role of miRNAs in BC diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment is presented in this review. miRNAs can regulate the tumorigenesis of BC through targeting PI3K pathway and can be used as prognostic or diagnostic biomarkers for BC therapy. Some miRNAs, like miR-9, miR-10b, and miR-17-5p, are becoming known as biomarkers of BC for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic outcome prediction. Other miRNAs, like miR-30c, miR-187, and miR-339-5p, play significant roles in the regulation of hallmark functions of BC, including invasion, metastasis, proliferation, resting death, apoptosis, and genomic instability. Other miRNAs, such as miR-155 and miR-210, are circulating in bodily fluids and are therefore of interest as novel, conveniently accessible, reasonably priced, non-invasive methods for the customized care of patients with BC.

miR-127-3p Inhibits Breast Cancer Cell Behaviors via Targeting Benzodiazepine Receptor-Associated Protein 1 (BZRAP1)

microRNAs are key regulators of cell proliferation, apoptosis, and anti-cancer immune response. This study intends to evaluate miR-127-3p’s role in breast cancer cells (BC). After transfection, miR-156 and BZRAP1 expression was assessed by qRT-PCR and Western blotting along with analysis of cell proliferation and apoptosis by MTT and flow cytometry. Finally, an in vivo tumor model was established to verify miR-127-3p’s in vivo effect. Transfection of si-BZRAP1/miR-127-3p into MCF-7 cells reduced BZRAP1 expression, inhibited cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis. miR-127-3p is confirmed to target BZRAP1 and exerts tumor suppressor activity by inhibiting BZRAP1. miR-127-3p inhibited BC cell growth and promote apoptosis by targeting BZRAP1, indicating that it is expected to be a target for the treatment of BC. The significance of this study is to confirm that miR-127-3p may participate in tumor progression via BZRAP1, and may become a potential target for treating tumor. Further analysis of the pathogenesis of breast cancer and detection of miR-127-3p/BZRAP1 in BC has important application value in the treatment.

Altered RNome expression in Murine Gastrocnemius Muscle following Exposure to Jararhagin, a Metalloproteinase from Bothrops jararaca Venom

Small RNAs (sRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous noncoding single-stranded RNAs that regulate gene expression in eukaryotes. Experiments in mice and humans have revealed that a typical small RNA can affect the expression of a wide range of genes, implying that small RNAs function as global regulators. Here, we used small RNA deep sequencing to investigate how jararhagin, a metalloproteinase toxin produced from the venom of Bothrops jararaca, affected mmu-miRNAs expression in mice 2 hours (Jar 2hrs) and 24 hours (Jar 24hrs) after injection compared to PBS control. The findings revealed that seven mmu-miRNAs were substantially differentially expressed (p value (p (Corr) cut-off 0.05, fold change ≥ 2) at 2 hrs after jararhagin exposure and that the majority of them were upregulated when compared to PBS. In contrast to these findings, a comparison of Jar 24hrs vs. PBS 24hrs demonstrated that the majority of identified mmu-miRNAs were downregulated. Furthermore, the studies demonstrated that mmu-miRNAs can target the expression of several genes involved in the MAPK signaling pathway. The steady antithetical regulation of mmu-miRNAs may correlate with the expression of genes that trigger apoptosis via MAPK in the early stages, and this effect intensifies with time. The findings expand our understanding of the effects of jararhagin on local tissue lesions at the molecular level.

BC-DETECT: combined detection of serum HE4 and TFF3 improves breast cancer diagnostic efficacy

BACKGROUND

Early accurate breast cancer (BC) diagnosis is critical in disease management. Mammography has been widely used. However, its radiation, and high false-negative and -positive results have always been a concern. We evaluated combined detection of human epididymal protein 4 (HE4) and trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) as substitute method to enhance BC diagnosis.

METHODS

HE4 and TFF3 blood levels were determined by ELISA in sera of 120 BC patients and 80 women (40 healthy and 40 benign breast disease) as controls. Receiver-operating characteristic curve was applied for evaluation diagnostic power of each biomarker and their combination.

RESULTS

In BC patients, serum HE4 [5 (2-11.9) vs. 3.1 (1.8-5.4) and 1 (1-3.5); P = 0.022] and TFF3 [5.3 (4.5-6.7) vs. 4.7 (4-4.8) and 3.9 (3-4.4); P = 0.027] were significantly higher than that in benign and healthy groups, respectively. Both HE4 (AUC = 0.783; P < 0.0001) and TFF3 (AUC = 0.759; P < 0.0001) had superior BC diagnostic ability compared to CEA and CA-15.3. Logistic regression analysis revealed simplified index BC-DETECT = HE4 + TFF3, and its values were significantly (P = 0.0132) elevated in BC (10.9 (8.4-17.2) compared to benign (7.2 (5.4-10.1)) and healthy (5.1 (4-6.3)) controls. AUC of BC-DETECT for BC prediction was (AUC = 0.850; P < 0.0001) with sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values and accuracy of 84.2%, 70%, 80.8%, 74.7%, and 78.5%, respectively. High BC-DETECT levels were associated with tumor non-luminal subtypes, late stage, high grade, large size, lymph-node invasion, and multiple lesions.

CONCLUSIONS

BC-DETECT is inexpensive, rapid, and easy to perform and reliably guides BC early detection. Moreover, the association between elevated BC-DETECT values and disease severity may propose its potential role as prognostic marker.

Breast Cancer; Discovery of Novel Diagnostic Biomarkers, Drug Resistance, and Therapeutic Implications

Breast cancer is the second most reported cancer in women with high mortality causing millions of cancer-related deaths annually. Early detection of breast cancer intensifies the struggle towards discovering, developing, and optimizing diagnostic biomarkers that can improve its prognosis and therapeutic outcomes. Breast cancer-associated biomarkers comprise macromolecules, such as nucleic acid (DNA/RNA), proteins, and intact cells. Advancements in molecular technologies have identified all types of biomarkers that are exclusively studied for diagnostic, prognostic, drug resistance, and therapeutic implications. Identifying biomarkers may solve the problem of drug resistance which is a challenging obstacle in breast cancer treatment. Dysregulation of non-coding RNAs including circular RNAs (circRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) initiates and progresses breast cancer. The circulating multiple miRNA profiles promise better diagnostic and prognostic performance and sensitivity than individual miRNAs. The high stability and existence of circRNAs in body fluids make them a promising new diagnostic biomarker. Many therapeutic-based novels targeting agents have been identified, including ESR1 mutation (DNA mutations), Oligonucleotide analogs and antagonists (miRNA), poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in BRCA mutations, CDK4/6 (cell cycle regulating factor initiates tumor progression), Androgen receptor (a steroid hormone receptor), that have entered clinical validation procedure. In this review, we summarize the role of novel breast cancer diagnostic biomarkers, drug resistance, and therapeutic implications for breast cancer.

Overexpression of miR-127 Predicts Poor Prognosis and Contributes to the Progression of Papillary Thyroid Cancer by Targeting REPIN1

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is a major kind of thyroid cancer with increasing recurrence and metastasis. MiR-127 has been demonstrated to play roles in many cancers with dysregulation. However, the function of miR-127 is still unknown. This study aimed to explore a novel biomarker for the progression and prognosis of PTC. A set of 118 patients with PTC were collected from the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University. qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of miR-127 in PTC tissues and cells. The association between miR-127 expression and the clinicopathological features of patients were evaluated by the χ² test, and the prognostic value of miR-127 was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis. The effect of miR-127 on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of PTC was analyzed by CCK-8 and transwell assay. miR-127 was found to be upregulated in PTC tissues and cells correlated with the TNM stage and poor prognosis of PTC patients. MiR-127 and the TNM stage were considered as two independent prognostic indicators for PTC. Moreover, overexpression of miR-127 significantly enhanced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of PTC by targeting REPIN1. miR-127 may be involved in the progression of PTC, which provides a new therapeutic strategy for PTC.

Recent Discoveries of Macromolecule- and Cell-Based Biomarkers and Therapeutic Implications in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer type and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women worldwide. Breast cancer is fairly heterogeneous and reveals six molecular subtypes: luminal A, luminal B, HER2+, basal-like subtype (ER−, PR−, and HER2−), normal breast-like, and claudin-low. Breast cancer screening and early diagnosis play critical roles in improving therapeutic outcomes and prognosis. Mammography is currently the main commercially available detection method for breast cancer; however, it has numerous limitations. Therefore, reliable noninvasive diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers are required. Biomarkers used in cancer range from macromolecules, such as DNA, RNA, and proteins, to whole cells. Biomarkers for cancer risk, diagnosis, proliferation, metastasis, drug resistance, and prognosis have been identified in breast cancer. In addition, there is currently a greater demand for personalized or precise treatments; moreover, the identification of novel biomarkers to further the development of new drugs is urgently needed. In this review, we summarize and focus on the recent discoveries of promising macromolecules and cell-based biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer and provide implications for therapeutic strategies.

Diagnostic value of serum human epididymis protein 4 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Numerous studies have demonstrated that human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is overexpressed in various malignant tissues including ovarian, endometrial, lung, breast, pancreatic, and gastric cancers. However, no study has examined the diagnostic impact of HE4 in patient with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) until now.

AIM

To analyze the value of four serum tumor markers for the diagnosis of ESCC, and examine the associations of serum levels of HE4 with ESCC patients’ clinicopathological characteristics.

METHODS

The case group consisted of 80 ESCC patients, which were compared to a control group of 56 patients with benign esophageal disease. Serum levels of HE4, carcinoma embryonic antigen (CEA), alpha fetal protein, and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) were detected by ELISA. The associations of serum HE4 levels with ESCC patients’ clinicopathological characteristics such as gender, tumor location, and pathological stage were also examined after operation.

RESULTS

The result of ELISA showed that serum HE4 level was significantly higher in the patients with ESCC than in the controls, and the staining intensity was inversely correlated with the pathological T and N stages. Serum HE4 levels had a sensitivity of 66.2% and specificity of 78.6% when the cutoff value was set at 3.9 ng/mL. Moreover, the combined HE4 and CA19-9 increased the sensitivity to 83.33%, and interestingly, the combination of HE4 with CEA led to the most powerful sensitivity of 87.5%. Furthermore, A positive correlation was observed between HE4 serum levels and pathological T and N stages (P = 0.0002 and 0.0017, respectively), but there was no correlation between HE4 serum levels and ESCC patient gender (P = 0.4395) or tumor location (P = 0.6777).

CONCLUSION

The results of this study suggest that detection of serum HE4 levels may be useful in auxiliary diagnosis and evaluation of the progression of ESCC.

Transcriptional downregulation of miR-127-3p by CTCF promotes prostate cancer bone metastasis by targeting PSMB5

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common cancers in males and particularly tends to metastasize to bone. Currently, metastatic bone disease is incurable, and new therapies need to be developed. Our study aims to determine the role of miR-127-3p in PCa metastasis to bone. The results demonstrate that miR-127-3p is markedly reduced in bone metastasis-positive PCa tissues relative to that in bone metastasis-negative PCa tissues. Furthermore, overexpressing miR-127-3p inhibits PCa cell invasion and migration in vitro by targeting the proteasome β-subunit PSMB5. Moreover, CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) transcriptionally inhibits miR-127-3p by interacting with the miR-127-3p promoter. Collectively, this study uncovers a novel mechanism of the CTCF/miR-127-3p/PSMB5 axis in promoting PCa bone metastasis, indicating that miR-127-3p could function as a promising therapeutic target against bone metastasis.

Bayesian multilevel model of micro RNA levels in ovarian-cancer and healthy subjects

In transcriptomics, micro RNAs (miRNAs) has gained much interest especially as potential disease indicators. However, apart from holding a great promise related to their clinical application, a lot of inconsistent results have been published. Our aim was to compare the miRNA expression levels in ovarian cancer and healthy subjects using the Bayesian multilevel model and to assess their potential usefulness in diagnosis. We have analyzed a case-control observational data on expression profiling of 49 preselected miRNA-based ovarian cancer indicators in 119 controls and 59 patients. A Bayesian multilevel model was used to characterize the effect of disease on miRNA levels controlling for differences in age and body weight. The difference between the miRNA level and health status of the patient on the scale of the data variability were discussed in the context of their potential usefulness in diagnosis. Additionally, the cross-validated area under the ROC curve (AUC) was used to assess the expected out-of-sample discrimination index of a different sets of miRNAs. The proposed model allowed us to describe the set of miRNA levels in patients and controls. Three highly correlated miRNAs: miR-101-3p, miR-142-5p, miR-148a-3p rank the highest with almost identical effect sizes that ranges from 0.45 to 1.0. For those miRNAs the credible interval for AUC ranged from 0.63 to 0.67 indicating their limited discrimination potential. A little benefit in adding information from other miRNAs was observed. There were several miRNAs in the dataset (miR-604, hsa-miR-221-5p) for which inferences were uncertain. For those miRNAs more experimental effort is needed to fully assess their effect in the context of new hits discovery and usefulness as disease indicators. The proposed multilevel Bayesian model can be used to characterize the panel of miRNA profile and to assess the difference in expression levels between healthy and cancer individuals.

Five serum microRNAs for detection and predicting of ovarian cancer

Objective

Ovarian cancer (OC) was one of the deadliest gynecological malignancy among women in global. Serum microRNAs (miRNAs) could serve as promising diagnostic biomarkers for patients with OC.

Study design

Using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) based Exiqon panel, we identified 27 differentially expressed miRNAs from one normal control (NC) pool and two OC pool samples in the initial screening stage. We further verified the miRNAs in the training (30 OC VS. 36 NCs) and validation stages (80 OC VS. 80 NCs) based on qRT-PCR. Later, the expression levels of the identified miRNAs were also evaluated in exosomes and tissues.

Results

We found a serum microRNA signature including five overexpressed miRNAs (miR-200c-3p, miR-346, miR-127-3p, miR-143-3p and miR-205-5p) in OC in comparison with NCs. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of the five-miRNA panel were 0.783 for the training stage and 0.745 for the validation stage. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the combined five-miRNA panel was 0.818 and 0.609 when the cut-off value was 0.636. The levels of miR-200c-3p, miR-346 and miR-127-3p in serum were related to tumor grade and distant metastasis of OC. The expression levels of the five miRNAs were also significantly up-regulated in serum exosomes (32 OC VS. 32 NCs). Furthermore, miR-200c-3p was significantly elevated in OC tissues (22 OC VS. 22 NCs). But the levels of the miR-346 and miR-143-3p were significantly lower in OC tissues.

Conclusion

Our findings showed a five-miRNA panel in serum for the detection of OC. Moreover, serum expression levels of miR-200c-3p, miR-346 and miR-127-3p were concerned with tumor grade and distant metastasis of OC.

miR-127 suppresses gastric cancer cell migration and invasion via targeting Wnt7a

Gastric cancer (GC) is a malignant tumor originating from the mucosal epithelium of the stomach. Patients suffering from this disease may have occurrence of residual GC due to delay in diagnosis and treatment. In addition, abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is involved in GC progression. Therefore, we examined the underlying mechanism of miR-127 in GC. The expression of miR-127 and Wnt7a was examined in GC using RT-qPCR and western blot analysis. A Transwell assay was used to assess the ability of GC cell migration and invasion. Luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the specific target of miR-127 in GC. The results showed miR-127 expression was lower in GC than normal samples, while Wnt7a expression was detected at a higher level in GC than normal samples. The association between miR-127 and Wnt7a expression was negatively correlated in GC tissues. miR-127 mimic in the two GC cell lines markedly curbed cell migration and invasion, while inhibition of miR-127 showed the opposite effect. In addition, Wnt7a siRNA significantly inhibited GC cell migration and invasion and Wnt7a was verified as a specific target of miR-127 in GC cells. Wnt7a reversed the ability of GC cell migration and invasion regulated by miR-127. In conclusion, miR-127 could curb GC cell migration and invasion by upregulating Wnt7a, indicating its potential application in GC diagnosis and therapy.

Clinical utility of decarboxylation prothrombin combined with α-fetoprotein for diagnosing primary hepatocellular carcinoma

We conducted a comprehensive analysis to evaluate clinical utility of decarboxylation prothrombin combined with α-fetoprotein (AFP) for diagnosing primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Systematical searches were performed in PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Internet, and Wangfang databases. The bivariate random-effect model was used to calculate the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and summary area under the curve (AUC). Fourteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. For decarboxylation prothrombin, the overall pooled parameters are as follows: sensitivity: 79% (95% confidence interval (CI): 74-84%), specificity: 91% (95%CI: 87-93%), PLR: 8.42 (95%CI: 5.79-12.23), negative likelihood ratio (NLR): 0.23 (95%CI: 0.17-0.30), DOR: 37.09 (95%CI: 21.37-64.36), summary AUC: 0.92 (95%CI: 0.89-0.94); for combined diagnostic, the overall pooled parameters were as follows: sensitivity: 91% (95%CI: 85-95%), specificity: 83% (95%CI: 74-89%), PLR: 5.26 (95%CI: 3.53-7.83), NLR: 0.11 (95%CI: 0.07-0.18), DOR: 47.14 (95%CI: 30.09-73.85), summary AUC: 0.94 (95%CI: 0.91-0.95). The serum decarboxylation prothrombin showed a relatively higher diagnostic specificity for primary HCC and decarboxylation prothrombin combined with AFP exhibited can improve sensitivity for HCC than any of the biomarkers alone.

MicroRNAs在结直肠癌中的研究进展

结直肠癌在我国恶性肿瘤中的发病率较高, 且其死亡率居高不下. 目前, 越来越多的学者十分关注微小RNAs(microRNAs, miRNAs)与结直肠癌的关系. miRNAs是普遍存在于生物体内的一类小分子非编码RNA, miRNAs的异常表达与结直肠癌的发生和进展密切相关. miRNAs可以通过转录后基因调控的方式, 来影响肿瘤细胞的增殖、调亡以及对化疗的敏感性等. 在这里, 我们回顾了近年来关于miRNAs与结直肠癌的相关文献, 了解miRNAs在结直肠癌中的表达、结直肠癌化疗耐药以及其与预后的关系, 从而更好的了解结直肠癌进展的生物学过程, 有助于结直肠癌的诊断与治疗, 提高结直肠癌患者的预后.