人肝细胞肝癌和癌旁正常组织microRNA表达差异的分析

目的比较肝细胞肝癌和癌旁正常组织microRNA的表达差异,为研究肝癌的发病机理提供理论依据。方法用microRNA 微阵列芯片技术研究肝细胞肝癌细胞474种miRNAs表达谱,对比癌旁正常组织筛选差异表达miRNAs。结果获得213个差异表达（P<0.01）的miRNAs分子数据,与配对癌旁正常组织相比,其中上调表达的有116个,如miR-181,miR-21,let-7e等;下调表达的有97个,如miR-199,miR-451,miR-122等。结论miRNA可能成为肝癌的诊断工具,并对研究肝癌的致病机理提供新的理论依据。     

Hepatocellular carcinoma associated microRNA expression signature: integrated bioinformatics analysis,experimental validation and clinical significance

microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles varied greatly among current studies due to different technological platforms and small sample size. Systematic and integrative analysis of published datesets that compared the miRNA expression profiles between hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue and paired adjacent noncancerous liver tissue was performed to determine candidate HCC associated miRNAs. Moreover, we further validated the confirmed miRNAs in a clinical setting using qRT-PCR and Tumor Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. A miRNA integrated-signature of 5 upregulated and 8 downregulated miRNAs was identified from 26 published datesets in HCC using robust rank aggregation method. qRT-PCR demonstrated that miR-93-5p, miR-224-5p, miR-221-3p and miR-21-5p was increased, whereas the expression of miR-214-3p, miR-199a-3p, miR-195-5p, miR-150-5p and miR-145-5p was decreased in the HCC tissues, which was also validated on TCGA dataset. A miRNA based score using LASSO regression model provided a high accuracy for identifying HCC tissue (AUC = 0.982): HCC risk score = 0.180E_miR-221 + 0.0262E_miR-21 - 0.007E_miR-223 - 0.185E_miR-130a. E_miR-n = Log 2 (expression of microRNA n). Furthermore, expression of 5 miRNAs (miR-222, miR-221, miR-21 miR-214 and miR-130a) correlated with pathological tumor grade. Cox regression analysis showed that miR-21 was related with 3-year survival (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.509, 95%CI: 1.079–2.112, P = 0.016) and 5-year survival (HR: 1.416, 95%CI: 1.057–1.897, P = 0.020). However, none of the deregulated miRNAs was related with microscopic vascular invasion. This study provides a basis for further clinical application of miRNAs in HCC.     

Cyclin G1 is a target of miR-122a, a microRNA frequently down-regulated in human hepatocellular carcinoma

We investigated the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the pathogenesis of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A genome-wide miRNA microarray was used to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in HCCs arisen on cirrhotic livers. Thirty-five miRNAs were identified. Several of these miRNAs were previously found deregulated in other human cancers, such as members of the let-7 family, mir-221, and mir-145. In addition, the hepato-specific miR-122a was found down-regulated in approximately 70% of HCCs and in all HCC-derived cell lines. Microarray data for let-7a, mir-221, and mir-122a were validated by Northern blot and real-time PCR analysis. Understanding the contribution of deregulated miRNAs to cancer requires the identification of gene targets. Here, we show that miR-122a can modulate cyclin G1 expression in HCC-derived cell lines and an inverse correlation between miR-122a and cyclin G1 expression exists in primary liver carcinomas. These results indicate that cyclin G1 is a target of miR-122a and expand our knowledge of the molecular alterations involved in HCC pathogenesis and of the role of miRNAs in human cancer.     

Association between microRNA-527 and glypican-3 in hepatocellular carcinoma

The present study aimed to identify the specific microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) and their corresponding target genes involved in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). Microarray analysis was performed to examine the miRNA expression profiles of four paired HCC and corresponding non-cancerous (N) liver tissues using 985 miRNA probes. The Human miRNA Target database was used to identify the target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs between the HCC and N tissues. The protein expression levels of target genes in the HCC tissues and cell lines were evaluated using western blotting. miRNA-mediated suppression of target gene expression was evaluated by transiently transfecting the miRNA into the HCC cell lines. Of the 985 miRNAs evaluated, four miRNAs were differentially expressed (three upregulated and one downregulated miRNAs). Of these four miRNAs, miRNA-527 was highly downregulated in the HCC tissues. Glypican-3 (GPC-3) was predicted as a target gene of miRNA-527. Western blotting revealed that GPC-3 protein is highly expressed in the HCC tissues and HCC cell lines compared with N and normal cell lines. Transfection with miR-527 resulted in suppression of GPC-3 protein expression in the Cos7 cells. Furthermore, transfection with miR-527 also inhibited the intrinsic expression of GPC-3 in the Huh-7 cell line. This indicated that miR-527 in the HCC tissues may be an important novel miRNA that targets the GPC-3 gene expression. GPC-3, whose expression is regulated by miR-527, may be involved in the development and progression of HCC.     

Diagnostic and prognostic implications of microRNAs in human hepatocellular carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important gene regulators, which are often deregulated in cancers. In this study, the authors analyzed the microRNAs profiles of 78 matched cancer/noncanerous liver tissues from HCC patients and 10 normal liver tissues and found that 69 miRNAs were differentially expressed between hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and corresponding noncancerous liver tissues (N). Then the expressions of 8 differentially expressed miRNAs were validated by real time RT PCR. The set of differentially expressed miRNAs could distinctly classify HCC, N and normal liver tissues (NL). Moreover, some of these differentially expressed miRNAs were related to the clinical factors of HCC patients. Most importantly, Kaplan-Meier estimates and the log-rank test showed that high expression of hsa-miR-125b was correlated with good survival of HCC patients (hazard ratio, 1.787, 95% confidence interval, 1.020-3.133, p = 0.043). The transfection assay showed that overexpression of miR-125b in HCC cell line could obviously suppress the cell growth and phosporylation of Akt. In conclusion, the authors have demonstrated the diagnostic miRNA profile for HCC, and for the first time, identified the miR-125b with predictive significance for HCC prognosis.     

Identification of recurrence-related microRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma following liver transplantation

Tumor recurrence-related microRNAs (miRNAs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) are not clear yet. This study was designed to determine whether altered miRNA expression is associated with HCC recurrence and prognosis following OLT. 18 miRNAs, including 6 up-regulated and 12 down-regulated miRNAs were identified by microarray in primary HCC samples of patients who had developed HCC recurrence (n = 5) compared to those with non-recurrence (n = 5) following OLT by using p < 0.05 as cutoff value. The six most significantly altered miRNAs (fold change ≥ 2: miR-19a, miR-886-5p, miR-126, miR-223, miR-24 and miR-147) were further confirmed by qRT-PCR in the remaining 105 HCC samples. In receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis, this six miRNAs were of high sensitivity and specificity in predicting HCC recurrence. Using Cox regression and risk score analysis, we built a six-miRNA signature based on their qRT-PCR readings for the prediction of outcome of HCC following OLT. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional regression revealed this six-miRNA signature was a significant independent predictor of overall survival (log-rank p = 0.020) and recurrence-free survival (log-rank p < 0.001). Finally, the data were further reconfirmed in an independent cohort of 50 patients from another transplant center. In addition, bioinformatics Gene Ontology and pathway analysis were also performed to better understand the critical roles of these miRNAs in HCC recurrence. Our study, in addition to suggesting a different miRNA expression pattern between HCC samples of patients with recurrence and those with non-recurrence, proposes that this six-miRNA signature may serve as biomarker for prognosis of HCC patients following OLT.     

miR-6883-3p靶向CHD1L抑制肝癌细胞的恶性表型

目的:寻找可靶向调控恶性肿瘤相关染色质解旋因子CHD1L的miRNAs分子,确证该调控模式对肝癌细胞恶性表型的影响。方法:通过生物信息学分析预测并筛选可靶向结合CHD1L的miRNAs,实时荧光定量PCR（qRT-PCR）及蛋白印迹分析（Western Blot）方法验证所筛选的miRNAs 对肝癌细胞CHD1L表达的影响,明确可转录后调控CHD1L表达的关键miRNA分子;qRT-PCR检测肝癌组织中miRNAs和CHD1L的表达,并对其表达进行相关性分析;MTS、细胞划痕、Transwell迁移实验验证目标miRNA分子对肝癌细胞恶性表型的影响。结果:生物信息学分析结果显示miR-6883-3p可显著下调肝癌细胞CHD1L表达。双荧光素酶报告实验检测结果证明miR-6883-3p可直接靶向结合CHD1L 3' UTR端。临床肝癌组织样本qRT-PCR检测及统计学分析结果显示CHD1L高表达于肝癌组织,而miR-6883-3p则高表达于癌旁组织,二者表达呈负相关。miR-6883-3p 模拟物（mimic）可明显抑制肝癌细胞增殖、促进细胞凋亡、抑制细胞迁移;而miR-6883-3p抑制剂（inhibitor）可显著促进肝癌细胞增殖、促进细胞迁移。 与对照组（Mock）相比,miR-6883-3p mimic组肝癌细胞内ALB表达则随着CHD1L表达的下调而增加,HNF-4α及AFP随着CHD1L表达的下调而减少,反之亦然。结论:miR-6883-3p通过靶向调控CHD1L表达,抑制肝癌细胞的恶性表型。     

Differential expression of microRNAs during melanoma progression: miR-200c, miR-205 and miR-211 are downregulated in melanoma and act as tumour suppressors

Background:

The incidence of malignant melanoma is increasing faster than that for any other cancer. Histological examination of skin excision biopsies remains the standard method for melanoma diagnosis and prognosis. Significant morphological overlap between benign and malignant lesions complicates diagnosis, and tumour thickness is not always an accurate predictor of prognosis.

Methods:

To identify improved molecular markers to support histological examination, we used microarray analysis of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded samples from different stages of melanomagenesis to identify differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs). Differential expression was validated by qRT–PCR, and functional studies were carried out after transfection of miRNA precursors or inhibitors into melanoma cells to modulate miRNA expression.

Results:

In all, 20 miRNAs showed highly significant differential expression between benign naevi and either primary or metastatic melanomas, the majority being downregulated in melanoma, whereas only 2 miRNAs, namely miR-203 and miR-205, were differentially expressed between primary and metastatic melanomas. In functional in vitro assays, overexpression of miR-200c and miR-205 inhibited anchorage-independent colony formation and overexpression of miR-211 inhibited both anchorage-independent colony formation and invasion.

Conclusion:

We have identified a series of differentially expressed miRNAs that could be useful as diagnostic or prognostic markers for melanoma and have shown that three miRNAs (namely miR-200c, miR-205 and miR-211) act as tumour suppressors.     

Differential micro-RNA expression in primary CNS and nodal diffuse large B-cell lymphomas

Most primary CNS lymphomas (PCNSL) are diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL). However, clinical behavior and prognosis differ considerably from those for nodal DLBCL (nDLBCL), and their pathogenesis is still not fully understood. Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) have been associated with cancer development and progression. We investigated a large miRNA panel for differential expression in PCNSL and nDLBCL, to determine new mechanisms potentially involved in PCNSL pathogenesis. Using paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens from 21 HIV-negative patients with newly diagnosed PCNSL (n = 11) and nDLBCL (n= 10), we measured the expression of 365 miRNA species by quantitative real-time PCR using low-density PCR arrays. We found that 18 miRNAs were differentially expressed: median expression levels of 13 miRNAs were 2.1-13.1 times higher in PCNSL, and median expression levels of 5 miRNAs were 2.6-3.3 times higher in nDLBCL. MiRNAs upregulated in PCNSL were associated with the Myc pathway (miR-17-5p, miR-20a, miR-9), with blocking of terminal B-cell differentiation (miR-9, miR-30b/c), or with upregulation by inflammatory cytokines (miR-155). Putative tumor-suppressor miRNAs (miR-199a, miR-214, miR-193b, miR-145) were downregulated in PCNSL. There was no overlap of miRNAs dysregulated in PCNSL with those differentially expressed between immunohistologically defined germinal center B cell-like (GCB) and non-GCB types or, apart from miR-9, with miRNAs known to be overexpressed in human brain. We conclude that PCNSL exhibits a distinct pattern of miRNA expression compared with nDLBCL. This argues for the involvement of different molecular mechanisms in the pathogenesis of these two lymphoma types.     

MicroRNA-424 inhibits Akt3/E2F3 axis and tumor growth in hepatocellular carcinoma

By comparing the expression profiles of miRNAs in different subtypes of HCC, we identified miR-424 as a HCC related miRNA. We found that the expression of miR-424 was significantly decreased in HCC tissues and six liver cancer cell lines. Significantly, its expression levels were correlated with tumor size, multiple nodules, vein invasion, TNM stage and overall survival of HCC. We showed that up-regulated miR-424 suppressed HCC cell proliferation in vivo and in vitro. Multi-pathway reporter arrays suggested that miR-424 suppressed the pRb-E2F pathway. Consistently, Akt3 and E2F3 were identified as the targets of miR-424 as evidenced by that ectopic miR-424 expression suppressed Akt3 and E2F3 expressions. Silencing Akt3 and E2F3 by siRNA pheno-copied the effect of ectopic miR-424 on HCC growth. Whereas, overexpression of Akt3 and E2F3 attenuated the effect of miR-424 on HCC growth. Together, our data demonstrated a tumor suppressor role for miR-424 in HCC development and progression with therapeutic implications. The strong correlation of miR-424 expression with HCC patient survival suggests that miR-424 could be a valuable biomarker for HCC prognosis.     

血清microRNA 在多形性胶质母细胞瘤术预后评估中的研究

目的:筛选多形性胶质母细胞瘤（glioblastoma multiform,GBM）患者术前、术后血清中差异表达的microRNAs（miRNAs）,并探讨差异表达的miRNAs与患者术后预后的相关性。方法:收集2006年1 月至2009年6 月48例北京天坛医院经临床病理诊断为GBM患者的术前术后血清样本。采用Solexa 测序的方法初步筛选出术前术后表达量有差异的 miRNA ,用实时荧光定量PCR（quantitative real-time PCR ,RT-qPCR）的方法对每个样本进行逐一验证,应用t 检验的方法筛选出满足条件的miRNA（两组之间的平均值差异在2 倍以上,且P < 0.05）,对48例患者进行随访,统计生存时间,根据48例患者中位生存时间494 d,将所有标本分为长生存期组和短生存期组,应用Kaplan-Meier 法和Log-rank 检验,研究患者术后血清miRNAs的表达量与患者生存时间之间是否存在统计学意义的相关性。结果:Solexa 结果显示,有63个miRNA 表达量存在差异,基于本研究先前的研究成果和其他文献的报道,从中选出4 个miRNA（miR-26b,miR-30e ,miR-129- 3p,miR-206）进行逐一验证并进行统计学分析,结果只有1 个miRNAs（miR-30e）在术后患者血清中的表达水平有明显上调现象（术前与术后表达水平平均值差异≥ 2 倍且P < 0.05）,随访结果显示,生存时间> 494 d,患者术后血清miR-30e 的表达水平有降低的趋势（P < 0.05）,但生存分析显示,患者术后血清中miR-30e 的表达量与患者总生存时间之间差异无统计学意义（P = 0.101）。 结论:GBM患者术前术后血清中差异表达的miRNA 只有miR-30e ,且术后患者血清中的miR-30e 水平与肿瘤负荷成负相关关系。生存分析结果显示,术后患者血清miR-30e 的表达水平与患者的预后没有明显的相关性。