Circulating MicroRNAs: A Next-Generation Clinical Biomarker for Digestive System Cancers. Int J Mol Sci. 2016;17. [PMID: 27598137 PMCID: PMC5037738 DOI: 10.3390/ijms17091459]

The Circulating miR-107 as a Potential Biomarker Up-Regulated in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a prevalent malignancy in men globally. Current diagnostic methods like PSA testing have limitations, leading to overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment. Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) emerges in some patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). This study explores the potential of circulating microRNA-107 (miR-107) in liquid biopsies as a prognosis tool to differentiate CRPC from non-castration-resistant PCa (NCRPC). We designed a case-control study to evaluate circulating miR-107 in serum as a potential prognosis biomarker. We analyzed miR-107 expression in liquid biopsies and found significantly higher levels (p < 0.005) in CRPC patients, compared to NCRPC. Notably, miR-107 expression was statistically higher in the advanced stage (clinical stage IV), compared to stages I-III. Furthermore, CRPC patients exhibited significantly higher miR-107 levels (p < 0.05), compared to NCRPC. These findings suggest that miR-107 holds promise as a non-invasive diagnostic biomarker for identifying potential CRPC patients.

Investigating the association between the tissue expression of miRNA-101, JAK2/STAT3 with TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and IL-10 cytokines in the ulcerative colitis patients

BACKGROUND

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease caused by numerous factors, such as immune system dysfunction and genetic factors. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in UC pathogenesis, particularly via the JAK-STAT pathway. Our aim was to investigate the association between miRNA-101 and JAK2-STAT3 signaling pathway with inflammatory cytokines in UC patients.

METHODS

We enrolled 35 UC patients and 35 healthy individuals as the control group, referred to Shariati Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Patients were diagnosed based on clinical, laboratory, histological, and colonoscopy criteria. RNA and protein extracted from tissue samples. Real-time PCR was used to assess the expression levels of miRNA-101, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-10 genes, while western blot was employed to measure levels of P-STAT3, total STAT3, and JAK2 proteins.

RESULTS

Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 significantly increased, while the expression of IL-10 significantly decreased in the case group versus controls. Additionally, miRNA-101 expression was significantly higher in UC patients. A significant correlation between miRNA-101 and IL-6 expression was observed, indicating their relationship and possible impact on cell signaling pathways, JAK2-STAT3. No significant changes were observed in phosphorylated and total STAT3 and JAK2 protein expression.

CONCLUSION

This study provides evidence of increased miRNA-101 expression in UC tissue, suggesting a potential correlation between miRNA-101 and IL-6 expression and their involvement in the JAK2-STAT3 pathway. The study confirms alterations in UC patients' pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory IL-10. However, further investigations are needed to understand the exact role of miRNA-101 in UC pathogenesis fully.

Circulating microRNAs as Reliable Tumor Biomarkers: Opportunities and Challenges Facing Clinical Application

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the development of human malignancies, and cells have the ability to secrete these molecules into extracellular compartments. Thus, cell-free miRNAs (circulating miRNAs) can potentially be used as biomarkers to evaluate pathophysiological changes. Although circulating miRNAs have been proposed as potential noninvasive tumor biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and response to therapy, their routine application in the clinic is far from being achieved. This review focuses on the recent progress regarding the value of circulating miRNAs as noninvasive biomarkers, with specific consideration of their relevant clinical applications. In addition, we provide an in-depth analysis of the technical challenges that impact the assessment of circulating miRNAs. We also highlight the significance of integrating circulating miRNAs with the standard laboratory biomarkers to boost sensitivity and specificity. The current status of circulating miRNAs in clinical trials as tumor biomarkers is also covered. These insights and general guidelines will assist researchers in experimental practice to ensure quality standards and repeatability, thus improving future studies on circulating miRNAs. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Our review will boost the knowledge behind the inconsistencies and contradictory results observed among studies investigating circulating miRNAs. It will also provide a solid platform for better-planned strategies and standardized techniques to optimize the assessment of circulating cell-free miRNAs.

Identification of the Minimum Combination of Serum microRNAs to Predict the Recurrence of Colorectal Cancer Cases

BACKGROUND

Serum microRNAs (miRNAs) have been recognized as potential stable biomarkers for various types of cancer. Considering the clinical applications, there are certain critical requirements, such as minimizing the number of miRNAs, reproducibility in a longitudinal clinical course, and superiority to conventional tumor markers, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9. This study aimed to identify serum miRNAs that indicate the recurrence of colorectal cancer (CRC), surpassing inter-tumor heterogeneity.

METHODS

We conducted an analysis of 434 serum samples from 91 patients with CRC and 71 healthy subjects. miRNAs were obtained from Toray Co., Ltd, and miRNA profiles were analyzed using a three-step approach. miRNAs that were highly expressed in patients with CRC than in the healthy controls in the screening phase, and those that were highly expressed in the preoperative samples than in the 1-month postoperative samples in the discovery phase, were extracted. In the validation phase, the extracted miRNAs were evaluated in 323 perioperative samples, in chronological order.

RESULTS

A total of 12 miRNAs (miR-25-3p, miR-451a, miR-1246, miR-1268b, miR-2392, miR-4480, miR-4648, miR-4732-5p, miR-4736, miR-6131, miR-6776-5p, and miR-6851-5p) were significantly concordant with the clinical findings of tumor recurrence, however their ability to function as biomarkers was comparable with CEA. In contrast, the combination of miR-1246, miR-1268b, and miR-4648 demonstrated a higher area under the curve (AUC) than CEA. These three miRNAs were upregulated in primary CRC tissues.

CONCLUSION

We identified ideal combinatorial miRNAs to predict CRC recurrence.

Tissue origin of circulating microRNAs and their response to nutritional and environmental stress in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Stresses associated with changes in diet or environmental disturbances are common situations that fish encounter during their lifetime. The stability and ease of measuring microRNAs (miRNAs) present in biological fluids make these molecules particularly interesting biomarkers for non-lethal assessment of stress in animals. Rainbow trout were exposed for four weeks to abiotic stress (moderate hypoxia) and/or nutritional stress (a high-carbohydrate/low-protein diet). Blood plasma and epidermal mucus were sampled at the end of the experiment, and miRNAs were assessed using small RNA sequencing. We identified four miRNAs (miR-122-5p, miR-184-3p, miR-192-5p and miR-194a-5p) and three miRNAs (miR-210-3p, miR-153a-3p and miR-218c-5p) that accumulated in response to stress in blood plasma and epidermal mucus, respectively. In particular, the abundance of miR-210-3p, a hypoxamiR in mammals, increased strongly in the epidermal mucus of rainbow trout subjected to moderate hypoxia, and can thus be considered a relevant biomarker of hypoxic stress in trout. We explored the contribution of 22 tissues/organs to the abundance of circulating miRNAs (c-miRNAs) in blood plasma and epidermal mucus influenced by the treatments. Some miRNAs were tissue-specific, while others were distributed among several tissues. Some c-miRNAs (e.g., miR-210-3p, miR184-3p) showed similar variations in both tissues and fluids, while others showed an inverse trend (e.g., miR-122-5p) or no apparent relationship (e.g. miR-192-5p, miR-194a-5p. Overall, these results demonstrate that c-miRNAs can be used as non-lethal biomarkers to study stress in fish. In particular, the upregulation of miR-210-3p in epidermal mucus induced by hypoxia demonstrates the potential of using epidermal mucus as a matrix for identifying non-invasive biomarkers of stress. This study provides information about the tissue sources of c-miRNAs and highlights the potential difficulty in relating variations in miRNA abundance in biological fluids to that in tissues.

Evaluation of classification ability of logistic regression model on SERS data of miRNAs

Logistic regression (LR) is a supervised multiple linear regression model, which uses linear weighted calculation for input to obtain weight coefficients of model. The surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technology greatly enhances the Raman signal of analyte. LR model was used to analyze the data of seven types of pancreatic cancer-related miRNAs obtained from commercial SERS substrate. The classification ability of the model on such data was observed under the configurations of different key parameters (classification mode, regularization method and loss function optimization way), and the effect of the two types of data formats were also evaluated. The results showed that though LR model used to classify this data did not perform well as expected, miRNA-191 and miRNA-4306 still had high recalls (sensitivity), which laid a theoretical foundation for the purpose of using LR model to identify these two miRNAs to jointly diagnose of pancreatic cancer at miRNA level.

Involvement of host microRNAs in flavivirus-induced neuropathology: An update

Flaviviruses are a spectrum of vector-borne RNA viruses that cause potentially severe diseases in humans including encephalitis, acute-flaccid paralysis, cognitive disorders and foetal abnormalities. Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), Zika virus (ZIKV), West Nile virus (WNV) and Dengue virus (DENV) are globally emerging pathogens that lead to epidemics and outbreaks with continued transmission to newer geographical areas over time. In the past decade, studies have focussed on understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of these viruses in a bid to alleviate their disease burden. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short single-stranded RNAs that have emerged as master-regulators of cellular gene expression. The dynamics of miRNAs within a cell have the capacity to modulate hundreds of genes and, consequently, their physiological manifestation. Increasing evidence suggests their role in host response to disease and infection including cell survival, intracellular viral replication and immune activation. In this review, we aim to comprehensively update published evidence on the role of miRNAs in host cells infected with the common neurotropic flaviviruses, with an increased focus on neuropathogenic mechanisms. In addition, we briefly cover therapeutic advancements made in the context of miRNA-based antiviral strategies.

Expression Profiles and Interaction of MicroRNA and Transcripts in Response to Bovine Leukemia Virus Exposure

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection in cattle is omnipresent, which causes significantly economical losses worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine microRNA (miRNA) and transcript profiles and to establish their relationship in response to exposure to the virus. Small noncoding and messenger RNA were extracted and sequenced from serum and white blood cells (WBCs) derived from seven BLV seropositive and seven seronegative cows. Transcriptomic profiles were generated by sequencing RNA libraries from WBC. Bta-miR-206 and bta-miR-133a-3p were differentially expressed in serum (P < 0.05). In WBC, bta-miR-335-3p, bta-miR-375, and bta-novel-miR76-3p were differentially expressed (P < 0.03). There were 64 differentially expressed transcripts (DETs). Gene ontology (GO) analysis of the DETs overexpressed in the seropositive group with GOs of response to stimulus and immune system process predicted that the DETs could potentially negatively regulate viral life cycle and viral entry or release from host cells. In addition, the DETs depleted in the seropositive group could play a role in the downregulation of antigen processing and presentation of endogenous peptide antigen via MHC class I. The differentially expressed miRNAs targeted 17 DETs, among which the expressions of bta-miR-133a-3p and bta-miR-335-3p were significantly negatively correlated with the expressions of ENSBTAT00000079143 and ENSBTAT00000066733, respectively. Under high prediction criteria, 90 targets of the differentially expressed miRNAs were all non-DETs. The most enriched biological process GO term of the targets was the RNA-dependent DNA biosynthetic process, which could be associated with virus replication. These results suggested that the differentially expressed miRNAs fine-tune most of the target genes in responding to BLV exposure. In addition, Bta-miR-206 interacted with BLV regulatory genes rex and tax by targeting their coding regions. A further study of the miRNAs and the genes may reveal the molecular mechanisms of BLV infection and uncover possible ways to prevent the infection.

Non-binary Encoded Nucleic Acid Barcodes Directly Readable by a Nanopore

A large collection of unique molecular barcodes is useful in the simultaneous sensing or screening of molecular analytes. Though the sequence of DNA has been widely applied to encode for molecular barcodes, decoding of these barcodes is normally assisted by sequencing. We here demonstrate a barcode system based solely on self-assembly of synthetic nucleic acids and direct nanopore decoding. Each molecular barcode is composed of "n" distinct information nodes in a non-binary manner and can be sequentially scanned and decoded by a Mycobacterium smegmatis porin A (MspA) nanopore. Nanopore events containing step-shaped features were consistently reported. 14 unique information nodes were developed which in principle could encode for 14ⁿ unique molecular barcodes in a barcode containing "n" information nodes. These barcode probes were adapted to detect different antibody proteins or cancer-related microRNAs, suggesting their immediate application in a wide variety of sensing applications.

MicroRNA Profiling of the Tears of Children With Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis

Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a chronic conjunctival inflammatory condition that typically affects children. Extracellular microRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNA molecules, the expression of which is reported to regulate cellular processes implicated in several eye diseases. The aim of this preliminary study is to identify the miRNA expression profile in the tears of children with VKC vis-à-vis controls, and to statistically evaluate these miRNAs as potential diagnostic biomarkers of VKC. The study involved a VKC group and a control group. Tear specimens were collected using Schirmer’s strips. RNA was isolated using miRNeasy Micro kit and quantification was performed using an Agilent Bioanalyzer RNA 6000 Nano kit and Small RNA kit. miRNA profiling was performed using the Agilent microarray technique. A total of 51 miRNAs (48 upregulated and three downregulated) were differentially expressed in the tears of children with VKC and controls. The three most significantly upregulated miRNAs were hsa-miR-1229-5p, hsa-miR-6821-5p, and hsa-miR-6800-5p, and the three most significantly downregulated miRNAs were hsa-miR-7975, hsa-miR-7977, and hsa-miR-1260a. All the upregulated miRNAs are potential diagnostic biomarkers of VKC pending validation due to their larger discriminatory area under the curve (AUC) values. miRNA target prediction analysis revealed multiple overlapping genes that are known to play a role in conjunctival inflammation. We identified a set of differentially expressed miRNAs in the tears of children with VKC that may play a role in VKC pathogenesis. This study serves as the platform study for future miRNA studies that will provide a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of VKC.

Detection of micro-RNA by a combination of nucleic acid sequence-based amplification and a novel chemiluminescent pyrophosphate assay

Micro-RNA has attracted much attention as a biomarker for disease progression and malignancy. A compact, simple, rapid, and highly sensitive method is required to perform simple genetic analyses, such as point-of-care testing (POCT), at the clinic or bedside. Nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) is a specific amplification method for a single-stranded RNA fragment that is useful for the highly sensitive detection of miRNAs. In this work, we developed a novel miRNA analytical system for POCT by combining the NASBA and chemiluminescence methods. Because the NASBA reaction is conducted at a constant temperature (41 °C) and detection by chemiluminescence reaction does not require a light source, these methods could be combined to amplify 100 ng/assay miRNA. This combined miRNA detection method could be useful for the future development of compact POCT systems.

Considerations and Suggestions for the Reliable Analysis of miRNA in Plasma Using qRT-PCR

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are promising molecules that can regulate gene expression, and their expression level and type have been associated with early diagnosis, targeted therapy, and prognosis of various diseases. Therefore, analysis of miRNA in the plasma or serum is useful for the discovery of biomarkers and the diagnosis of implicated diseases to achieve potentially unprecedented progress in early treatment. Numerous methods to improve sensitivity have recently been proposed and confirmed to be valuable in miRNA detection. Specifically, quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) is an effective and common method for sensitive and specific analysis of miRNA from biological fluids, such as plasma or serum. Despite this, the application of qRT-PCR is limited, as it can be affected by various contaminants. Therefore, extraction studies have been frequently conducted to maximize the extracted miRNA amount while simultaneously minimizing contaminants. Moreover, studies have evaluated extraction efficiency and normalization of the extracted sample. However, variability in results among laboratories still exists. In this review, we aimed to summarize the factors influencing the qualification and quantification of miRNAs in the plasma using qRT-PCR. Factors influencing reliable analysis of miRNA using qRT-PCR are described in detail. Additionally, we aimed to describe the importance of evaluating extraction and normalization for reliable miRNA analysis and to explore how miRNA detection accuracy, especially from plasma, can be improved.

Involvement of host microRNAs in flavivirus-induced neuropathology: An update

Flaviviruses are a spectrum of vector-borne RNA viruses that cause potentially severe diseases in humans including encephalitis, acute-flaccid paralysis, cognitive disorders and foetal abnormalities. Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), Zika virus (ZIKV), West Nile virus (WNV) and Dengue virus (DENV) are globally emerging pathogens that lead to epidemics and outbreaks with continued transmission to newer geographical areas over time. In the past decade, studies have focussed on understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of these viruses in a bid to alleviate their disease burden. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short single-stranded RNAs that have emerged as master-regulators of cellular gene expression. The dynamics of miRNAs within a cell have the capacity to modulate hundreds of genes and, consequently, their physiological manifestation. Increasing evidence suggests their role in host response to disease and infection including cell survival, intracellular viral replication and immune activation. In this review, we aim to comprehensively update published evidence on the role of miRNAs in host cells infected with the common neurotropic flaviviruses, with an increased focus on neuropathogenic mechanisms. In addition, we briefly cover therapeutic advancements made in the context of miRNA-based antiviral strategies.

Depletion of tumor suppressor miRNA-148a in plasma relates to tumor progression and poor outcomes in gastric cancer

Recent studies identified that low levels of tumor suppressor microRNAs in plasma/serum relate to tumor progression and poor outcomes in cancers. This study explored decreased tumor suppressor microRNA (miRNA) plasma levels in gastric cancer (GC) patients to clarify their potential as novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. We focused on five candidates (miR-148a, miR-101, miR-129, miR-145 and miR-206) of tumor suppressor miRNAs in GC by a systematic review of NCBI database. Of these, miR-148a levels were significantly down-regulated in plasma of GC patients compared to healthy volunteers by test- and validation-scale analyses (P<0.0001). A Low level of plasma miR-148a was significantly associated with venous invasion, lymph node metastasis, advanced stage and peritoneal recurrence, and was an independent poor prognostic factor (P=0.0296, Hazard ratio 4.2). Overexpression of miR-148a in GC cells inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In vivo, the restoration and maintenance of miR-148a in plasma significantly inhibited tumor growth in mice with peritoneal metastasis (P=0.0050). In conclusions, depletion of the tumor suppressor miRNA-148a in plasma relates to tumor progression and poor outcomes. The restoration of the blood miR-148a level might be a novel nucleic acid anticancer therapy for GC.

DNMT1 and miRNAs: possible epigenetics footprints in electromagnetic fields utilization in oncology

Many studies were performed to unravel the effects of different types of Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on biological systems. Some studies were conducted to exploit EMFs for medical purposes mainly in cancer therapy. Although many studies suggest that the EMFs exposures can be effective in pre-clinical cancer issues, the treatment outcomes of these exposures on the cancer cells, especially at the molecular level, are challenging and overwhelmingly complicated yet. This article aims to review the epigenetic mechanisms that can be altered by EMFs exposures with the main emphasis on Extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF). The epigenetic mechanisms are reversible and affected by environmental factors, thus, EMFs exposures can modulate these mechanisms. According to the reports, ELF-EMF exposures affect epigenetic machinery directly or through the molecular signaling pathways. ELF-EMF in association with DNA methylation, histone modification, miRNAs, and nucleosome remodeling could affect the homeostasis of cancer cells and play a role in DNA damage repairing, apoptosis induction, prevention of metastasis, differentiation, and cell cycle regulation. In general, the result of this study shows that ELF-EMF exposure probably can be effective in cancer epigenetic therapy, but more molecular and clinical investigations are needed to clarify the safe and specific dosimetric characteristics of ELF-EMF in practice.

Comprehensive evaluation of microRNA-10b in digestive system cancers reveals prognostic implication and signaling pathways associated with tumor progression

Background: Digestive system cancers (DSCs) have been recognized to be linked with high morbidity and mortality. Recent studies have reported that microRNA-10b (miR-10b) is abnormally expressed in DSCs and associated with prognosis. However, the inconclusive results and unknown underlying mechanisms promoted us to perform this study. Methods: We systematic searched several databases for eligible studies and conducted quantitative analysis for evidence regarding the associations between miR-10b and survival outcome of DSCs. We also performed a series of bioinformatics analyses to uncover the potential mechanisms. Results: A total of 32 eligible studies with 3392 patients were included. Increased miR-10b expression was linked with unfavorable overall survival (OS) in DSCs (HR=1.72; 95% CI: 1.30-2.27; P <0.001). When stratified by tumor type, the impact of miR-10b overexpression on poor prognosis was observed in colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and esophageal carcinoma, but not in pancreatic cancer. Subsequently, we predicted the targets of miR-10b and conducted functional enrichment analyses. The results disclosed that miR-10b targets were predominantly enriched in some vital biological terms and pivotal signaling pathways associated with tumor progression including cell cycle, FoxO, proteoglycans, central carbon metabolism, p53, Notch, HIF-1, focal adhesion, AMPK, and pancreatic cancer. Moreover, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was also constructed to identify the top ten hub genes and significant modules and demonstrated the underlying interactions among them. Conclusion: Our results indicated that miR-10b could act as a significant biomarker in the prognosis DSCs. However, more research should be performed to test these findings.

Development and validation of a serum microRNA biomarker panel for detecting gastric cancer in a high-risk population

OBJECTIVE

An unmet need exists for a non-invasive biomarker assay to aid gastric cancer diagnosis. We aimed to develop a serum microRNA (miRNA) panel for identifying patients with all stages of gastric cancer from a high-risk population.

DESIGN

We conducted a three-phase, multicentre study comprising 5248 subjects from Singapore and Korea. Biomarker discovery and verification phases were done through comprehensive serum miRNA profiling and multivariant analysis of 578 miRNA candidates in retrospective cohorts of 682 subjects. A clinical assay was developed and validated in a prospective cohort of 4566 symptomatic subjects who underwent endoscopy. Assay performance was confirmed with histological diagnosis and compared with Helicobacter pylori (HP) serology, serum pepsinogens (PGs), 'ABC' method, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 19-9 (CA19-9). Cost-effectiveness was analysed using a Markov decision model.

RESULTS

We developed a clinical assay for detection of gastric cancer based on a 12-miRNA biomarker panel. The 12-miRNA panel had area under the curve (AUC)=0.93 (95% CI 0.90 to 0.95) and AUC=0.92 (95% CI 0.88 to 0.96) in the discovery and verification cohorts, respectively. In the prospective study, overall sensitivity was 87.0% (95% CI 79.4% to 92.5%) at specificity of 68.4% (95% CI 67.0% to 69.8%). AUC was 0.848 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.88), higher than HP serology (0.635), PG 1/2 ratio (0.641), PG index (0.576), ABC method (0.647), CEA (0.576) and CA19-9 (0.595). The number needed to screen is 489 annually. It is cost-effective for mass screening relative to current practice (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio=US$44 531/quality-of-life year).

CONCLUSION

We developed and validated a serum 12-miRNA biomarker assay, which may be a cost-effective risk assessment for gastric cancer.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (Registration number: NCT04329299).

Urinary exosomal microRNA profiling in intermediate-risk prostate cancer

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) of urine exosomes have emerged as biomarkers for urological cancers, owing to their high stability. MiRNAs have been linked to factors associated with aggressive prostate cancer such as biochemical recurrence (BCR) and metastasis. In this study, we aimed to identify urinary exosomal miRNAs as prognostic markers associated with BCR in intermediate-risk prostate cancer. We profiled the expression levels of miRNAs via next generation sequencing in urinary exosomes from 21 non-BCR patients and 6 BCR patients of intermediate-risk prostate cancer. A total of 21 urinary exosomal miRNAs were found to be differentially expressed (> twofold) in BCR patients compared to non-BCR patients. For external validation, we validated these results using quantitative reverse transcription PCR in an independent cohort of 28 non-BCR patients and 26 BCR patients. A validation analysis revealed that three miRNAs (miR-26a-5p, miR-532-5p, and miR-99b-3p) were upregulated in exosomes from BCR patients. The univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that miR-532-5p was an important predictive factor for BCR of intermediate-risk prostate cancer. In conclusion, miR-532-5p in urine exosomes might be a potential biomarker for predicting BCR, which is a poor prognosis in patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer. Further research is needed on the biological functions and mechanisms of this miRNA.

Circulatory miRNA as a Biomarker for Therapy Response and Disease-Free Survival in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The clinical outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment remains unsatisfactory, contributing to the high mortality of HCC worldwide. Circulating miRNAs have the potential to be a predictor of therapy response. Microarray profiling was performed in serum samples of 20 HCC patients before treatment. Circulating miRNAs associated with treatment response were validated in 86 serum HCC samples using the qRT-PCR system. Patients were treated either with curative treatments (resection or radiofrequency) or trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE), and grouped according to therapy response in complete responders (CR) and partial responders or progressive disease (PRPD), following mRECIST criteria. Four miRNA candidates from the discovery phase (miR-4443, miR-4454, miR-4492, and miR-4530) were validated. Before therapy, miR-4454 and miR-4530 were up-regulated in CR to curative treatments (2.83 fold, p = 0.02 and 2.33 fold, p = 0.008, respectively) and were able to differentiate CR from PRPD (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.74, sens/spec 79/63% and AUC = 0.77, sens/spec 72/73%). On the contrary, miR-4443 was 1.95 times down-regulated in CR (p = 0.05) with an AUC of 0.72 (sens = 70%, spec = 60%) in distinguishing CR vs. PRPD). The combination of the three miRNAs was able to predict the response to curative treatment with an AUC of 0.84 (sens = 72%, spec = 75%). The higher levels of miR-4454 and miR-4530 in were associated to longer overall survival (HR = 2.79, p = 0.029 and HR = 2.97, p = 0.011, respectively). Before TACE, miR-4492 was significantly up-regulated in CR patients (FC = 2.67, p = 0.01) and able to differentiate CR from PRPD (AUC = 0.84, sens/spec 84.6/71%). We demonstrated that different miRNAs predictors can be used as potential prognostic circulating biomarkers according to the selected treatment for HCC.

Liquid biopsy as a perioperative biomarker of digestive tract cancers: review of the literature

Tissue biopsies are the gold-standard for investigating the molecular characterization of tumors. However, a "solid" biopsy is an invasive procedure that cannot capture real-time tumor dynamics and may yield inaccurate information because of intratumoral heterogeneity. In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge about surgical treatment-associated "liquid" biopsy for patients with digestive organ tumors. A liquid biopsy is a technique involving the sampling and testing of non-solid biological materials, including blood, urine, saliva, and ascites. Previous studies have reported the potential value of blood-based biomarkers, circulating tumor cells, and cell-free nucleic acids as facilitators of cancer treatment. The applications of a liquid biopsy in a cancer treatment setting include screening and early diagnosis, prognostication, and outcome and recurrence monitoring of cancer. This technique has also been suggested as a useful tool in personalized medicine. The transition to precision medicine is still in its early stages. Soon, however, liquid biopsy is likely to form the basis of patient selection for molecular targeted therapies, predictions regarding chemotherapy sensitivity, and real-time evaluations of therapeutic effects.

Liquid Biopsy is Instrumental for 3PM Dimensional Solutions in Cancer Management

One in every four deaths is due to cancer in Europe. In view of its increasing incidence, cancer became the leading cause of death and disease burden in Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the UK. Without essential improvements in cancer prevention, an additional 775,000 cases of annual incidence have been prognosed until 2040. Between 1995 and 2018, the direct costs of cancer doubled from EUR 52 billion to EUR 103 billion in Europe, and per capita health spending on cancer increased by 86% from EUR 105 to EUR 195 in general, whereby Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Benelux, and France spend the most on cancer care compared to other European countries. In view of the consequent severe socio-economic burden on society, the paradigm change from a reactive to a predictive, preventive, and personalized medical approach in the overall cancer management is essential. Concepts of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (3PM) demonstrate a great potential to revise the above presented trends and to implement cost-effective healthcare that benefits the patient and society as a whole. At any stage, application of early and predictive diagnostics, targeted prevention, and personalization of medical services are basic pillars making 3PM particularly attractive for the patients as well as ethical and cost-effective healthcare. Optimal 3PM approach requires novel instruments such as well-designed liquid biopsy application. This review article highlights current achievements and details liquid biopsy approaches specifically in cancer management. 3PM-relevant expert recommendations are provided.

The Role of the Liver-Specific microRNA, miRNA-122 in the HCV Replication Cycle

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication requires annealing of a liver specific microRNA, miR-122 to 2 sites on 5' untranslated region (UTR). While, microRNAs downregulate gene expression by binding to the 3' untranslated region of the target mRNA, in this case, the microRNA anneals to the 5'UTR of the viral genomes and upregulates the viral lifecycle. In this review, we explore the current understandings of the mechanisms by which miR-122 promotes the HCV lifecycle, and its contributions to pathogenesis. Annealing of miR-122 has been reported to (a) stimulate virus translation by promoting the formation of translationally active internal ribosome entry site (IRES) RNA structure, (b) stabilize the genome, and (c) induce viral genomic RNA replication. MiR-122 modulates lipid metabolism and suppresses tumor formation, and sequestration by HCV may influence virus pathogenesis. We also discuss the possible use of miR-122 as a biomarker for chronic hepatitis and as a therapeutic target. Finally, we discuss roles for miR-122 and other microRNAs in promoting other viruses.

CMEP: a database for circulating microRNA expression profiling

MOTIVATION

In recent years, several experimental studies have revealed that the microRNAs (miRNAs) in serum, plasma, exosome and whole blood are dysregulated in various types of diseases, indicating that the circulating miRNAs may serve as potential noninvasive biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis. However, no database has been constructed to integrate the large-scale circulating miRNA profiles, explore the functional pathways involved and predict the potential biomarkers using feature selection between the disease conditions. Although there have been several studies attempting to generate a circulating miRNA database, they have not yet integrated the large-scale circulating miRNA profiles or provided the biomarker-selection function using machine learning methods.

RESULTS

To fill this gap, we constructed the Circulating MicroRNA Expression Profiling (CMEP) database for integrating, analyzing and visualizing the large-scale expression profiles of phenotype-specific circulating miRNAs. The CMEP database contains massive datasets that were manually curated from NCBI GEO and the exRNA Atlas, including 66 datasets, 228 subsets and 10 419 samples. The CMEP provides the differential expression circulating miRNAs analysis and the KEGG functional pathway enrichment analysis. Furthermore, to provide the function of noninvasive biomarker discovery, we implemented several feature-selection methods, including ridge regression, lasso regression, support vector machine and random forests. Finally, we implemented a user-friendly web interface to improve the user experience and to visualize the data and results of CMEP.

AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION

CMEP is accessible at http://syslab5.nchu.edu.tw/CMEP.

Nutritional genomics, inflammation and obesity

The Human Genome Project has significantly broadened our understanding of the molecular aspects regulating the homeostasis and the pathophysiology of different clinical conditions. Consequently, the field of nutrition has been strongly influenced by such improvements in knowledge - especially for determining how nutrients act at the molecular level in different conditions, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. In this manner, characterizing how the genome influences the diet and vice-versa provides insights about the molecular mechanisms involved in chronic inflammation-related diseases. Therefore, the present review aims to discuss the potential application of Nutritional Genomics to modulate obesity-related inflammatory responses. Arch Endocrinol Metab. 2020;64(3):205-22.

Contributions of Gene Modules Regulated by Essential Noncoding RNA in Colon Adenocarcinoma Progression

Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), especially microRNA (miRNA) and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), have an impact on a variety of important biological processes during colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) progression. This includes chromatin organization, transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation, and cell-cell signaling. The aim of this study is to identify the ncRNA-regulated modules that accompany the progression of COAD and to analyze their mechanisms, in order to screen the potential prognostic biomarkers for COAD. An integrative molecular analysis was carried out to identify the crosstalks of gene modules between different COAD stages, as well as the essential ncRNAs in the posttranscriptional regulation of these modules. 31 ncRNA regulatory modules were found to be significantly associated with overall survival in COAD patients. 17 out of the 31 modules (in which ncRNAs played essential roles) had improved the predictive ability for COAD patient survival compared to only the mRNAs of those modules, which were enriched in the core cancer hallmark pathways with closer interactions. These suggest that the ncRNAs' regulatory modules not only exhibit close relation to COAD progression but also reflect the dynamic significant crosstalk of genes in the modules to the different malignant extent of COAD.

Role of microRNAs in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Pathogenesis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small endogenous non-coding RNAs involved in many cancers and various cellular processes such as cellular growth, DNA methylation, apoptosis, and differentiation. 13q14.3 chromosomal region contains miR-15 and miR-16 and deletion of this region is a commonly reported aberration in Chronic Lymphoblastic Leukemia (CLL), suggesting miRNAs involvement in CLL pathogenesis. MicroRNAs are known as oncogenes and tumor suppressors in CLL which may also serve as markers of onset and progression of the disease. The most prevalent form of leukemia diagnosed in adults in the western world, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, accounts for one-third of all leukemias. CLL is characterized by the presence of B Cell Malignant Clones in secondary lymphoid tissues, peripheral blood and bone marrow. The precise etiology of CLL is remained to be known, however, a number of Chromosomal Abnormalities such as deletions of 13q14.3, 11q and 17p and trisomy 12 have been detected. In this review, we offer our prospect on how miRNAs are involved in the CLL pathogenesis and disease progression. Further understanding of the underlying mechanisms and regulation of CLL pathogenesis has underscored the need for further research regarding their role in this disease.

miRNAs as Influencers of Cell-Cell Communication in Tumor Microenvironment

microRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level, inducing the degradation of the target mRNA or translational repression. MiRNAs are involved in the control of a multiplicity of biological processes, and their absence or altered expression has been associated with a variety of human diseases, including cancer. Recently, extracellular miRNAs (ECmiRNAs) have been described as mediators of intercellular communication in multiple contexts, including tumor microenvironment. Cancer cells cooperate with stromal cells and elements of the extracellular matrix (ECM) to establish a comfortable niche to grow, to evade the immune system, and to expand. Within the tumor microenvironment, cells release ECmiRNAs and other factors in order to influence and hijack the physiological processes of surrounding cells, fostering tumor progression. Here, we discuss the role of miRNAs in the pathogenesis of multicomplex diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, and cancer, focusing on the contribution of both intracellular miRNAs, and of released ECmiRNAs in the establishment and development of cancer niche. We also review growing evidence suggesting the use of miRNAs as novel targets or potential tools for therapeutic applications.

Elevated expression of exosomal microRNA-21 as a potential biomarker for the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer using a tethered cationic lipoplex nanoparticle biochip

Pancreatic cancer (PC) has a poor prognosis due to the lack of effective molecular biomarkers for early diagnosis. Recent studies have investigated the use of exosomal microRNAs (exmiRs) as diagnostic biomarkers in cancer. The present study examined exmiR-21, exmiR-10b and exmiR-212-3p expression in patients with PC and healthy individuals. The expression levels of exmiR-21, exmiR-10b and exmiR-212-3p were examined in the peripheral blood plasma of 36 patients with PC and 65 healthy controls, using tethered cationic lipoplex nanoparticle biochip. The levels of exmiR-21 in the plasma of 34 mice were also evaluated. The expression levels of exmiR-21 and exmiR-10b were significantly greater in patients with PC compared with the control group. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that exmiR-21 had better diagnostic performance (P=0.0003; AUC, 0.7171) compared with the other two exmiRs. The diagnostic value of exmiR-21 improved when combined with exmiR-10b (P<0.0001; AUC, 0.791). Furthermore, exmiR-21 was capable of distinguishing patients with early-stage PC from controls and advanced-stage PC (P<0.05, early stage vs. healthy; P<0.001, early stage vs. advanced stage). The results of the present study revealed that the plasma levels of exmiR-21 and exmiR-10b were upregulated in patients with PC. The ROC analyses indicated that exmiR-21 had the best diagnostic performance among the three exmiRs. Furthermore, exmiR-21 was capable of discriminating patients with early-stage PC from healthy controls. These findings indicate the potential of determining the expression of exmiR-21 from serum using a tethered cationic lipoplex nanoparticle biochip as a novel non-invasive strategy for the early diagnosis of PC.

Prognostic significance of microRNA-135 in patients with digestive system cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: MicroRNA-135 (miR-135) is a well-known non-coding RNA that has been demonstrated to participate in tumorigenesis and cancer development; however, the clinical prognostic value of miR-135 in digestive system cancers remains controversial. This meta-analysis aims to explore the potential value of miR-135 as a prognostic marker for digestive system cancers.

Methods: The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched for eligible articles published before 31 August 2019. Stata 12.0 software was used to analyze the overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates to access the prognostic value of miR-135 in digestive system cancers. We then used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets to validate the meta-analysis results.

Results A total of 1470 patients from 17 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that enhanced miR-135 expression was significantly associated with poor OR (hazard ratio (HR): 1.790; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.577–2.031; P=0.000), DFS (HR: 1.482; 95% CI: 0.914–2.403; P=0.110), and RFS (HR: 3.994; 95% CI: 1.363–11.697; P=0.012) in digestive system cancers. A sensitivity analysis confirmed the reliability of our findings, and no significant publication bias was observed.

Conclusion: MiR-135 can be used as a novel biomarker for patients with digestive system cancers. We look forward to future large-scale clinical studies that will investigate the prognostic value of miR-135.

Immune-Related Circulating miR-125b-5p and miR-99a-5p Reveal a High Recurrence Risk Group of Pancreatic Cancer Patients after Tumor Resection

Clinical follow-up aided by changes in the expression of circulating microRNAs (miRs) may improve prognostication of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients. Changes in 179 circulating miRs due to cancer progression in the transgenic Kras G12D/+; Trp53 R172H/+; P48-Cre (KPC) animal model of PDAC were analyzed for serum miRs that are altered in metastatic disease. In addition, expression levels of 250 miRs were profiled before and after pancreaticoduodenectomy in the serum of two patients with resectable PDAC with different progression free survival (PFS) and analyzed for changes indicative of PDAC recurrence after resection. Three miRs that were upregulated ≥3-fold in progressive PDAC in both mice and patients were selected for validation in 26 additional PDAC patients before and after resection. We found that high serum miR-125b-5p and miR-99a-5p levels after resection are significantly associated with shorter PFS (HR 1.34 and HR 1.73 respectively). In situ hybridization for miR detection in the paired resected human PDAC tissues showed that miR-125b-5p and miR-99a-5p are highly expressed in inflammatory cells in the tumor stroma, located in clusters of CD79A expressing cells of the B-lymphocyte lineage. In conclusion, we found that circulating miR-125b-5p and miR-99a-5p are potential immune-cell related prognostic biomarkers in PDAC patients after surgery.

Extracellular vesicles as a novel source of biomarkers in liquid biopsies for monitoring cancer progression and drug resistance

Cancer-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been detected in the bloodstream and other biofluids of cancer patients. They carry various tumor-derived molecules such as mutated DNA and RNA fragments, oncoproteins as well as miRNA and protein signatures associated with various phenotypes. The molecular cargo of EVs partially reflects the intracellular status of their cellular origin, however various sorting mechanisms lead to the enrichment or depletion of EVs in specific nucleic acids, proteins or lipids. It is becoming increasingly clear that cancer-derived EVs act in a paracrine and systemic manner to promote cancer progression by transferring aggressive phenotypic traits and drug-resistant phenotypes to other cancer cells, modulating the anti-tumor immune response, as well as contributing to remodeling the tumor microenvironment and formation of pre-metastatic niches. These findings have raised the idea that cancer-derived EVs may serve as analytes in liquid biopsies for real-time monitoring of tumor burden and drug resistance. In this review, we have summarized recent longitudinal clinical studies describing promising EV-associated biomarkers for cancer progression and tracking cancer evolution as well as pre-clinical and clinical evidence on the relevance of EVs for monitoring the emergence or progression of drug resistance. Furthermore, we outlined the state-of-the-art in the development and commercialization of EV-based biomarkers and discussed the scientific and technological challenges that need to be met in order to translate EV research into clinically applicable tools for precision medicine.

Liquid Biopsy as a Tool for Differentiation of Leiomyomas and Sarcomas of Corpus Uteri

Utilization of liquid biopsy in the management of cancerous diseases is becoming more attractive. This method can overcome typical limitations of tissue biopsies, especially invasiveness, no repeatability, and the inability to monitor responses to medication during treatment as well as condition during follow-up. Liquid biopsy also provides greater possibility of early prediction of cancer presence. Corpus uteri mesenchymal tumors are comprised of benign variants, which are mostly leiomyomas, but also a heterogenous group of malignant sarcomas. Pre-surgical differentiation between these tumors is very difficult and the final description of tumor characteristics usually requires excision and histological examination. The leiomyomas and malignant leiomyosarcomas are especially difficult to distinguish and can, therefore, be easily misdiagnosed. Because of the very aggressive character of sarcomas, liquid biopsy based on early diagnosis and differentiation of these tumors would be extremely helpful. Moreover, after excision of the tumor, liquid biopsy can contribute to an increased knowledge of sarcoma behavior at the molecular level, especially on the formation of metastases which is still not well understood. In this review, we summarize the most important knowledge of mesenchymal uterine tumors, the possibilities and benefits of liquid biopsy utilization, the types of molecules and cells that can be analyzed with this approach, and the possibility of their isolation and capture. Finally, we review the typical abnormalities of leiomyomas and sarcomas that can be searched and analyzed in liquid biopsy samples with the final aim to pre-surgically differentiate between benign and malignant mesenchymal tumors.

Analysis of circulating non-coding RNAs in a non-invasive and cost-effective manner

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) participate in regulation of gene expression, and are highly relevant to pathological development. They are found to be stably present in diverse body fluids, including those in the circulatory system, which can be sampled non-invasively for clinical tests. Thus, circulating ncRNAs have great potential to be disease biomarkers. However, tremendous efforts are desired to discover and utilize ncRNAs as biomarkers in clinical diagnosis, calling for technological advancement in analysis of circulating ncRNAs in biospecimens. Hence, this review summarizes the recent developments in this area, highlighting the works devoted to cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Three main directions are focused: 1) Extraction and purification of ncRNAs from body fluids; 2) Quantification of the purified circulating ncRNAs; and 3) Microfluidic platforms for integration of both steps to enable point-of-care diagnostics. These technologies have laid a solid foundation to move forward the applications of circulating ncRNAs in disease diagnosis and cure.

Dietary non-coding RNAs from plants: Fairy tale or treasure?

The past two decades have witnessed soaring interest in the field of non-coding RNAs, largely attributed by its regulatory role in controlling two third of human transcriptional output. Though, there are several classes of non-coding RNAs found in nature, microRNAs takes the central stage because of their pleiotropic roles. In particular, extracellular microRNAs are gaining traction due to their relative stability and bio availability. Extracellular microRNAs has been shown to occur in all living organisms, including dietary plants. Some of the recent reports suggest that these dietary microRNAs pass through the gut, enter systemic circulation and exert biological effects on animal physiology. However, evidences against this hypothesis are also presented in literature and hence this area has been strongly debated. In this review, I will briefly summarise the evidences accumulated for and against this hypothesis and discuss potential implications of such findings in human health.

Sensitive Plasmonic Detection of miR-10b in Biological Samples Using Enzyme-Assisted Target Recycling and Developed LSPR Probe

A portable and nonlabeled plasmonic biosensor was advanced to enable the sensitive and selective detection of microRNA (miRNA) in a biological sample. miRNAs can act on several key cellular processes, including cell differentiation, cell cycle progression, and function as oncogenes. Detection of circulating miRNAs, especially in blood or urine samples, allows noninvasive and simple diagnosis of diseases. Herein, we report a localized surface plasmon resonance sensor (LSPR) based on an enzyme-assisted target recycling system and a developed LSPR probe for the detection of gastric cancer relevant miRNAs, miR-10b. The sensitivity of the sensor was improved by increasing the concentration of the signal-amplifying agent using the duplex-specific nuclease and by strongly binding the developed LSPR probe, tannic acid capping gold nanoparticles, to the DNA. Under optimal conditions, miR-10b detection could be realized in the range of 5 pM-10 nM with a detection limit of 2.45 pM. This integrated detection system represents an approach to sensitive detection of miRNAs and offers great applications in personalized medicine and monitoring of cancer.

The Potential for microRNA Therapeutics and Clinical Research

As FDA-approved small RNA drugs start to enter clinical medicine, ongoing studies for the microRNA (miRNA) class of small RNAs expand its preclinical and clinical research applications. A growing number of reports suggest a significant utility of miRNAs as biomarkers for pathogenic conditions, modulators of drug resistance, and/or as drugs for medical intervention in almost all human health conditions. The pleiotropic nature of this class of nonprotein-coding RNAs makes them particularly attractive drug targets for diseases with a multifactorial origin and no current effective treatments. As candidate miRNAs begin to proceed toward initiation and completion of potential phase 3 and 4 trials in the future, the landscape of both diagnostic and interventional medicine will arguably continue to evolve. In this mini-review, we discuss miRNA drug discovery development and their current status in clinical trials.

Early modifications of circulating microRNAs levels in metastatic colorectal cancer patients treated with regorafenib

Biomarkers able to improve the cost/benefit ratio are urgently needed for metastatic colorectal cancer patients that are eligible to receive regorafenib. Here, we measured plasma levels of ten circulating microRNAs (c-miRNAs) and we investigated their early changes during treatment, as well as possible correlation with clinical outcome. Ten literature-selected c-miRNAs were quantified by qRT-PCR on plasma samples collected at baseline (d1) and after 15 days of treatment (d15). C-miRNAs showing significant changes were further analyzed to establish correlations with outcome. A decision tree-based approach was employed to define a c-miRNA signature able to predict the outcome. Results achieved in an exploratory cohort were tested in a validation group. In the exploratory cohort (n = 34), the levels of c-miR-21 (p = 0.06), c-miR-141 (p = 0.04), and c-miR-601 (p = 0.01) increased at d15 compared with d1. A c-miRNA signature involving c-miR-21, c-miR-221, and c-miR-760 predicted response to treatment (p < 0.0001) and was significantly associated to PFS (HR = 10.68; 95% CI 3.2-35.65; p < 0.0001). In the validation cohort (n = 36), the increase in c-miR-21 (p = 0.02) and c-miR-601 (p = 0.02) levels at d15 was confirmed, but the associations with outcome were not. Our data indicate that early changes of c-miRNA levels might be influenced by regorafenib treatment. However, further studies are needed to establish the predictive power of such modifications.

High expression of MiR-98 is a good prognostic factor in acute myeloid leukemia patients treated with chemotherapy alone

It has been demonstrated that microRNA-98 (miR-98) is dysregulated in multiple types of solid tumors, but its expression and impact in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is unclear. To explore the prognostic role of miR-98 in AML, 164 AML patients with the miR-98 expression data were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and enrolled in this study. First, patients were divided into chemotherapy-only (chemotherapy) group and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) group. Each group was then divided in two groups by the median expression level of miR-98. In chemotherapy group, high miR-98 expression was associated with longer event-free survival (EFS, P = 0.003) and overall survival (OS, P = 0.004), but in allo-HSCT group, EFS and OS were not significantly different between high and low miR-98 expressers. Second, All patients were divided in two groups by the median expression level of miR-98. In low miR-98 expressers, those treated with allo-HSCT had longer EFS (P = 0.001) and OS (P < 0.001) than chemotherapy, but in high miR-98 expressers, survival was independent from treatment modalities. Gene ontology enrichment analysis indicated that the genes associated with miR-98 expression were mainly concentrated in “definitive hemopoiesis”, “negative regulation of myeloid cell differentiation” and “signaling pathways regulating pluripotency of stem cells” pathways. In conclusion, our results indicated that high miR-98 expression confers good prognosis in AML patients treated with chemotherapy alone. Patients with low miR-98 expression may benefit from allo-HSCT.

Biomarkers for Stratification in Colorectal Cancer: MicroRNAs

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most widely recognized and deadly malignancies worldwide. In spite of the fact that the death rates have declined over the previous decade, particularly because of enhanced screening or potential treatment alternatives, CRC still remains the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the world, with an estimated incidence of over 1 million new cases and approximately 600 000 deaths estimated yearly. Unlike prostate and lung cancer, CRC is not easily detectable in its early stage, which may also account for its high mortality rate. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of noncoding RNAs. The roles of these noncoding RNAs have been implicated in cancer pathogenesis, most especially CRC, due to their ability to posttranscriptionally regulate the expression of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Dysregulated expression of many miRNAs regulates the expression of hundreds of growth regulatory genes and pathways that are important in the multistep model of colorectal carcinogenesis. If CRC is detected early, it is a largely treatable disease. Early diagnosis, including the identification of premalignant adenomas, is regarded a major concept for improving patient survival in CRC treatment. Several lines of research suggest that miRNAs are closely implicated in the metastatic process in CRC and some of these miRNAs could be useful as promising clinical tools for identifying specific stages of CRC due to their differential expression. This review discusses the correlation between CRC staging relative to the specific expression of miRNA for early detection, treatment, and disease management.

Hypermethylation of miR-205-5p by IR Governs Aggressiveness and Metastasis via Regulating Bcl-w and Src

Although radiotherapy has been successfully applied to treat many cancer types, surviving cancer cells often acquire therapeutic resistance, leading to increased risk of local recurrence and distant metastases via modification of the tumor microenvironment. Previously, we reported that high expression of Bcl-w in cancer patients is significantly correlated with poor survival as well as malignant activity. However, the relationship between ionizing radiation (IR)-induced resistance and Bcl-w expression in cancer cells is currently unclear. We showed that IR-induced Bcl-w contributes to EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition), migration, angiogenesis, stemness maintenance, and metastasis by promoting the expression of factors related to these phenotypes, both in vitro and in vivo. Meanwhile, IR enhanced hypermethylation of miR-205-5p CpG islands through Src activation, leading to decreased miR-205-5p expression and, in turn, potentially stimulating Bcl-w-mediated malignant activity and metastasis. The clinical applicability of Bcl-w and miR-205-5p from cells or animal models was confirmed using tissues and plasma of breast carcinoma patients. Based on the collective findings, we propose that miR-205-5ps as important negative mediators of resistance in radiotherapy could serve as useful potential targets of concurrently applied genetic therapy aimed to inhibit tumor aggressiveness and enhance the efficiency of radiotherapy in cancer patients.

A glucose/O2 fuel cell-based self-powered biosensor for probing a drug delivery model with self-diagnosis and self-evaluation

Extending the application of self-powered biosensors (SPB) into the drug delivery field is highly desirable. Herein, a robust glucose/O2 fuel cell-based biosensor is successfully integrated with a targeted drug delivery system to create a self-sustained and highly compact drug delivery model with self-diagnosis and self-evaluation (DDM-SDSE). The glucose/O2 fuel cell-based biosensor firstly performs its diagnostic function by detecting the biomarkers of cancer. The drug delivery system attached on the anode of the glucose/O2 fuel cell can be released during the diagnostic operation to guarantee the occurrence of a therapy process. Accompanied by the therapy process, the glucose/O2 fuel cell-based biosensor can also act as an evaluation component to dynamically monitor the therapy efficacy by analyzing drug-induced apoptotic cells. In addition, the use of an abiotic catalyst largely improves the stability of the glucose/O2 fuel cell without sacrificing the output performance, further ensuring long-time dynamic evaluation as well as highly sensitive diagnosis and evaluation in this DDM-SDSE. Therefore, the present study not only expands the application of SPBs but also offers a promising in vitro "diagnosis-therapy-evaluation" platform to acquire valuable information for clinical cancer therapy.

Novel biomarkers for patient stratification in colorectal cancer: A review of definitions, emerging concepts, and data

Colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment has become more personalised, incorporating a combination of the individual patient risk assessment, gene testing, and chemotherapy with surgery for optimal care. The improvement of staging with high-resolution imaging has allowed more selective treatments, optimising survival outcomes. The next step is to identify biomarkers that can inform clinicians of expected prognosis and offer the most beneficial treatment, while reducing unnecessary morbidity for the patient. The search for biomarkers in CRC has been of significant interest, with questions remaining on their impact and applicability. The study of biomarkers can be broadly divided into metabolic, molecular, microRNA, epithelial-to-mesenchymal-transition (EMT), and imaging classes. Although numerous molecules have claimed to impact prognosis and treatment, their clinical application has been limited. Furthermore, routine testing of prognostic markers with no demonstrable influence on response to treatment is a questionable practice, as it increases cost and can adversely affect expectations of treatment. In this review we focus on recent developments and emerging biomarkers with potential utility for clinical translation in CRC. We examine and critically appraise novel imaging and molecular-based approaches; evaluate the promising array of microRNAs, analyze metabolic profiles, and highlight key findings for biomarker potential in the EMT pathway.

A comprehensive review of the genetic and biological evidence supports a role for MicroRNA-137 in the etiology of schizophrenia

Since it was first associated with schizophrenia (SCZ) in a 2011 genome-wide association study (GWAS), there have been over 100 publications focused on MIR137, the gene encoding microRNA-137. These studies have examined everything from its fundamental role in the development of mice, flies, and fish to the intriguing enrichment of its target gene network in SCZ. Indeed, much of the excitement surrounding MIR137 is due to the distinct possibility that it could regulate a gene network involved in SCZ etiology, a disease which we now recognize is highly polygenic. Here we comprehensively review, to the best of our ability, all published genetic and biological evidence that could support or refute a role for MIR137 in the etiology of SCZ. Through a careful consideration of the literature, we conclude that the data gathered to date continues to strongly support the involvement of MIR137 and its target gene network in neuropsychiatric traits, including SCZ risk. There remain, however, more unanswered than answered questions regarding the mechanisms linking MIR137 genetic variation with behavior. These questions need answers before we can determine whether there are opportunities for diagnostic or therapeutic interventions based on MIR137. We conclude with a number of suggestions for future research on MIR137 that could help to provide answers and hope for a greater understanding of this devastating disorder.

Altered microRNA profiles in plasma exosomes from mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (mTLE-HS) is the most common type of focal epilepsy. The present study aimed to explore the expression and functions of exosomal microRNAs in mTLE-HS. A total of 50 microRNAs were found to be differentially expressed in mTLE-HS compared with healthy controls. Among them, 2 were increased and 48 were decreased. The 6 significant differentially expressed candidate microRNAs (miR-3613-5p, miR-4668-5p, miR-8071, miR-197-5p, miR-4322, and miR-6781-5p ) in exosome were validated. The bioinformatics analysis showed that the potential target genes of these microRNAs were involved in biological processes, molecular functions, and cellular components. Similarly, these microRNAs also affected axon guidance, pathways in cancer, regulation of the actin cytoskeleton, focal adhesion, the calcium signaling pathway, the MAPK signaling pathway, and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Among 6 candidate microRNAs, miR-8071 had the best diagnostic value for mTLE-HS with 83.33% sensitivity and 96.67% specificity, and was associated with seizure severity. This study indicated that exosomal microRNAs, may be regulators for the seizure development in mTLE-HS, and can be used as potential therapeutic targets and biomarker for diagnosis in mTLE-HS.