Down-regulation of microRNA-126 and microRNA-133b acts as novel predictor biomarkers in progression and metastasis of non small cell lung cancer

Objective: MiRNAs play crucial roles in progression of cancer. However, the underlying mechanisms of miRNAs in non small cell lung cancer are still poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression level of microRNA-126 (miR-126) and microRNA-133b (miR-133b) and also their association with clinicopathological features in patients with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Total RNA was purified from NSCLC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues and then quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to evaluate the expression rate of microRNAs. Furthermore, the association of miR-126 and miR-133b level with clinicopathological features and prognosis were evaluated. Results: Our findings showed that expression of miR-126 was decreased in NSCLC tissues compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues. On the other hand, a lower expression of miR-133b was seen in NSCLC tissues when compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues. In term of miR-126, our results showed that miR-126 was associated with tumor stage and lymph nodes metastasis (P<0.05). In term of miR-133b, our finding indicated that decreased expression of miR-133b was correlated with advanced tumor stage and lymph nodes metastasis (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test indicated that patients with low expression of miR-126 and miR-133b had a shorter overall survival (log-rank test; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards model revealed that low expression of miR-126 and miR-133b, advanced tumor stage and lymph nodes metastasis were independent prognostic factors for overall survival of NSCLC patients. Conclusions: These findings suggested that miR-126 and miR-133b might play a key role in the progression and metastasis of NSCLC and would be applied as a novel therapeutic agent.     

Expression of miR-32 in human non-small cell lung cancer and its correlation with tumor progression and patient survival

Introduction: miR-32 has recently been found to be implicated in many critical processes in various types of human cancer. However, its clinical significance in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not yet been elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the expression of miR-32 in NSCLC and analyzed its association with clinical features and prognosis of NSCLC patients. Methods: Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to measure expression level of miR-32 in lung cancer cell lines, normal bronchial epithelial cells, 90 pairs of tumor samples and adjacent non-tumor tissues. To determine its prognostic value, overall survival was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed using the Cox proportional hazard analysis. Results: The expression of miR-32 was significantly decreased in lung cancer cell lines and NSCLC tissues compared with normal bronchial epithelial cells and adjacent non-tumor tissues (P < 0.05). This reduction of miR-32 was associated with tumor stage and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). Moreover, Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that patients with low miR-32 expression had shorter overall survival time than those with high miR-32 expression (P < 0.05). Univariate analysis revealed statistically significant correlations between overall survival and miR-32 level, tumor stage and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). Furthermore, miR-32 levels, tumor stage and lymph node metastasis were independently associated with overall survival (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our results provided the first evidence that down-regulation of miR-32 was correlated with NSCLC progression, and miR-32 might be a potential molecular biomarker for predicting the prognosis of patients.     

Low MiR-149 expression is associated with unfavorable prognosis and enhanced Akt/mTOR signaling in glioma

microRNAs (miRs) play critical roles in the progression of glioma. Previous in vitro studies have described the anti-tumor role of miR-149 in cancer cells including glioma. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether miR-149 is associated with the prognosis of glioma patients. A total of 163 glioma patients who underwent tumor resection were included in our follow-up study. We found that the miR-149 expression was significantly lower in tumor tissues compared with that in normal tissues (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier and analysis showed that the miR-149 expression status was significantly associated with the survival duration (logrank test, P<0.001), and multivariate Cox regression revealed that patients with low miR-149 expression were exposed to a 1.825 fold higher death risk (HR=1.825, 95% CI=1.031-3.229, P=0.039) compared with those with high miR-149 expression. Further study showed that Akt/mTOR signaling was hyperactive in low miR-149 expressing tissues. Our study thus demonstrates that miR-149 expression in glioma tissues is critically associated with the prognosis of patients, suggesting its potential clinical significance.     

Down-regulation of microRNA-124 is correlated with tumor metastasis and poor prognosis in patients with lung cancer

Introduction: MicroRNA-124 (miR-124) has been proven dysregulated in several human malignancies and correlated with tumor progression. However, its expression and clinical significance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of miR-124 expression in NSCLC. Methods: Expression levels of miR-124 in 92 pairs of NSCLC and adjacent non-tumor tissues were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). In order to determine its prognostic value, overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and multivariate analysis was performed using the Cox proportional hazard analysis. Results: miR-124 expression level was significantly lower in NSCLC tissues compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues (P < 0.05). The 5-year OS of low miR-124 expression group was significantly shorter than that of high miR-124 expression group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the 5-year DFS of low miR-124 expression group was also significantly shorter than that of high miR-124 expression group (P < 0.05). In a multivariate Cox model, we found that miR-124 expression was an independent prognostic factor for both 5-year OS and 5-year DFS in NSCLC (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our results offer the convincing evidence that miR-124 may play key roles in the progression of lung cancer and that the down-regulated expression of miR-124 may be independently associated with shorter OS and DFS of patients, suggesting that miR-124 might be a potential marker for further risk stratification in the treatment of lung cancer.     

Decreased expression of serum miR-424 correlates with poor prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in many important cellular processes and deregulation of miRNAs is linked to many human diseases including cancer. Although miR-424 has been demonstrated to inhibit progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its expression level in serum samples and the potential clinical values remain unknown. Materials and methods: The expression level of miR-424 in the serum clinical samples from HCC patients and healthy volunteers were determined by qRT-PCR. Then the association of serum miR-424 expression level with various important clinicopathological parameters and survival rates was evaluated. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to identify the independent risk factors for HCC. Results: The expression level of serum miR-424 was significantly decreased in patients with HCC compared with the healthy volunteers (P<0.01). Reduced expression of serum miR-424 was associated with serum AFP (P=0.048), vein invasion (P=0.006) and TNM stage (P=0.003). In addition, survival analysis showed that HCC patients with lower serum miR-424 expression suffered poorer overall survival (P=0.018) and disease free survival (P=0.008). Moreover, serum miR-424 was demonstrated to be an independent risk factor for HCC. Conclusions: Our findings provide the compelling evidence that the decreased expression of serum miR-424 may serve as a novel biomarker to predict the unfavorable prognosis of HCC patients.     

Increased ZO-1 expression predicts valuable prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of Zonula Occludens-1 (ZO-1) and its potential value as prognostic indicator of survival in patients with primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry with tissue microarrays were used to characterize the expression of the ZO-1 mRNA and protein in NSCLC. The correlation of ZO-1 expression with clinical characteristics and prognosis was determined by statistical analysis. Results: The ZO-1 mRNA and protein levels were significantly lower in NSCLC tissue compared with corresponding peritumoral tissue (P<0.05). ZO-1 protein expression in NSCLC was related to age (P=0.042) and 5-year survival (P<0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox regression analyses revealed that low ZO-1 expression (P<0.001) and later stage grouping by TNM (P=0.031) were independent factors predicting poor prognosis for patients with NSCLC. Conclusions: Our findings provide the first evidence that high expression of ZO-1 is associated with good prognosis in NSCLC.     

Decreased expression of long non-coding RNA MEG3 acts as a potential predictor biomarker in progression and poor prognosis of osteosarcoma

Introduction: Long non-coding RNA MEG3 (lncRNA MEG3) has been showed to involve in a variety of cancers. However, the association between lncRNA MEG3 expression level and the prognosis of osteosarcoma is still unclear. Methods: The expression levels of lncRNA MEG3 in osteosarcoma tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues were detected using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Differences in patient survival were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method and a log-rank test. A Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used for univariate and multivariate analyses of prognostic values. Results: Our findings showed that expression of lncRNA MEG3 was clearly lower in osteosarcoma tissues compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues. The expression of lncRNA MEG3 was associated with clinical stage and distant metastasis (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with low lncRNA MEG3 expression had a shorter overall survival (log-rank test, P<0.05). Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that decreased expression of lncRNA MEG3, advanced clinical stage and distant metastasis were all independent predictors to overall survival of osteosarcoma patients. Conclusions: Downregulation of lncRNA MEG3 was associated with poor overall survival of osteosarcoma. LncRNA MEG3 could be a useful biomarker for progression and prognosis of osteosarcoma.     

High expression of long non-coding RNA ANRIL is associated with poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction: long non-coding RNA ANRIL (lncRNA ANRIL) has been demonstrated to play a crucial role in cancer progression. However, its effects in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been explored. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of lncRNA NRIL in human HCC. Methods: In this study, we determined for the first time the expression of lncRNA ANRIL in human HCC by quantitative Real-time-PCR analysis. Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate Cox proportional models were used to study the impact on clinical outcome. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to silence lncRNA ANRIL and to explore the effects of reduced lncRNA ANRIL expression on cell growth and metastasis. Results: lncRNA ANRIL expression in HCC tissues was significantly higher than in the adjacent non-tumor tissues (P < 0.05). The expression of lncRNA ANRIL was remarkably associated with the histologic grade and TNM stage of HCC patients (P < 0.05). In addition, HCC patients with higher lncRNA ANRIL expression had significantly poorer overall survival (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis suggested that high lncRNA ANRIL expression was an independent predictor of poor prognosis (P < 0.05). Moreover, in vitro assays revealed that the decreased expression of lncRNA ANRIL could suppress the cell proliferation, migration and invasion HCC cells. Conclusions: Our results suggest that lncRNA ANRIL may serve as an efficient clinical biomarker and a therapeutic target for HCC patients.     

Elevated expression of UHRF1 predicts unfavorable prognosis for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Aims: The present study was designed to evaluate the different expression of ubiquitin-like with PHD and ring finger domains 1 (UHRF1) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and the adjacent normal tissues, further explore the correlation between UHRF1 expression and the prognosis of HCC patients. Methods: The UHRF1 expression at protein level in HCC tissues and the adjacent normal tissues were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Chi-square test was used to estimate the relationship between UHRF1 expression and clinicopathologic characteristics of HCC patients. The overall survival of HCC patients with diverse expression of UHRF1 was measured by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Cox regression analysis was conducted to judge the prognostic value of UHRF1 in HCC patients. Results: The UHRF1 was over-expressed in HCC tissues compared with the adjacent normal tissues according to the outcome of HPLC (P<0.001). Besides, the UHRF1 expression was tightly related to distant metastasis, cancer area, and HBV (P<0.05), but shared no correlation with gender, cirrhosis, and bilirubin (P>0.05). Patients with high UHRF1 expression had a shorter overall survival time than those with low UHRF1 expression (P<0.001). Cox regression analysis showed that UHRF1 was significantly linked with the prognosis of HCC patients (P=0.002, HR=5.807, 95% CI=1.901-17.742). Conclusion: UHRF1 was over-expressed in HCC tissues compared to the adjacent normal tissues and UHRF1 expression shared significant relevance with distant metastasis, cancer area and HBV. It could be an important and independent prognostic biomarker for HCC patients.     

Roles of the miR-139-5p/CCT5 axis in hepatocellular carcinoma: a bioinformatic analysis

Background: MiRNAs are pivotal regulators involved in proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, metastasis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), angiogenesis, drug resistance and autophagy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of miR-139-5p and its target genes on the outcomes of HCC.Methods: Survival analysis of miR-139-5p in HCC was conducted in Kaplan-Meier plotter. Target genes of miR-139-5p were identified in TargetScan, miRTarBase and starBase. Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) series were used for the validation of miR-139-5p target genes. Cox proportional regression model was also established.Results: In Kaplan-Meier plotter, 163 HCC patients were included. MiR-139-5p downregulation was significantly associated with unfavorable overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in HCC patients (all P < 0.001). MiR-139-5p was significantly downregulated in HCC tumors and human hepatoma cell lines (all P < 0.05). As a target gene of miR-139-5p, CCT5 was overexpressed in HCC tumor tissues and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (all P < 0.05). A negative correlation between CCT5 and miR-139-5p was found in TCGA dataset. CCT5 overexpression was significantly associated with worse OS in HCC patients (P < 0.001), which was validated in the {"type":"entrez-geo","attrs":{"text":"GSE14520","term_id":"14520"}}GSE14520 dataset (P = 0.017). CCT5 mRNA was significantly overexpressed in HCC patients with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) > 300 ng/ml, BCLC staging B-C, TNM staging III and main tumor size > 5 cm (all P < 0.05). According to the Cox regression model of CCT5-interacting genes, HCC patients with high risk had poor OS compared to those with low risk in the TCGA dataset (P < 0.001), with the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year ROC curves of an area under the curve (AUC) equal to 0.704, 0.662, and 0.631, respectively.Conclusions: MiR-139-5p suppresses HCC tumor aggression and conversely correlated with CCT5. The miR-139-5p/CCT5 axis might perform crucial functions in the development of HCC.     

Over-expression of lncRNA DANCR is associated with advanced tumor progression and poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer

Despite advances made in the diagnosis and treatment of human colorectal cancer (CRC), the long-term survival for CRC remains poor. Long non-coding RNA anti-differentiation ncRNA (lncRNA DANCR) was identified to be involved in carcinogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma. While its expression in CRC and potential role in tumor progression is still unknown. In the present study, we investigated the expression level of lncRNA DANCR as well as its association with CRC progression and prognosis. The expression of lncRNA DANCR was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in 104 CRC specimens. The prognostic value of lncRNA DANCR was further analysis. Our results showed that lncRNA DANCR expression was increased in CRC tissues compared with that in adjacent normal tissues (P<0.05). In addition, tumors with high lncRNA DANCR expression was correlated with TNM stage, histologic grade, and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with high lncRNA DANCR expression had a shorter overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) compared with the low lncRNA DANCR expression group (P<0.05). Moreover, in a multivariate Cox model, our results showed that lncRNA DANCR expression was an independent poor prognostic factor for both OS and DFS in CRC. Our data indicated that lncRNA DANCR expression might be a novel potential biomarker for CRC prognosis.     

Prognostic significance of long non-coding RNA PCAT-1 expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play widespread roles in gene regulation and cellular processes. However, the functional roles of lncRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are not yet well elucidated. The aim of the present study was to measure the levels of lncRNA PCAT-1 expression in HCC and evaluate its clinical significance in the development and progression of HCC. Methods: We examined the expression of PCAT-1 in 117 HCC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues using quantitative real-time-PCR and analyzed its correlation with the clinical parameters. Results: Our data showed that PCAT-1 expression in HCC tissues was significantly increased compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues (P<0.05). Up-regulated expression of PCAT-1 was significantly associated with TNM stage and metastasis (P<0.05), but not other clinical parameters. Moreover, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that a high expression level of PCAT-1 resulted in a significantly poor overall survival of HCC patients. The multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that PCAT-1 expression level was an independent prognostic factor for the overall survival rate of HCC patients. Conclusions: Our data suggested that the increased expression of PCAT-1 was associated with advanced clinical parameters and poor overall survival of HCC patients, indicating that PCAT-1 up-regulation may serve as a novel biomarker of poor prognosis in HCC patients.     

Increased expression of microRNA-196a predicts poor prognosis in human ovarian carcinoma

Objective: Overexpression of MicroRNA-196a (miR-196a) has recently been reported in different types of human cancers. However, the prognostic value of miR-196a in ovarian carcinoma remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the expression of miR-196a in ovarian carcinoma and its relationship with tumor progression and clinical prognosis. Methods: The expression level of miR-196a was examined by quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in surgically removed ovarian cancer tissues and ovarian cancer cell lines. The correlation between miR-196a expression and clinical features and prognosis were statistically analyzed. Results: The results showed that the miR-196a expression was significantly upregulated in tumor tissues and ovarian cancer cell lines compared with that in normal ovarian surface tissues and normal ovarian epithelial cells. Moreover, miR-196a expression was positively correlated with FIGO stage (P <0.001), tumor size (P =0.020), and lymph nodes metastasis (P =0.019). Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that high levels of miR-196a expression was associated with poorer overall survival (P <0.001) and recurrent-free survival (P =0.003), especially in patients with advanced disease (P =0.002). Multivariate analysis suggested that miR-196a expression was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival of patients with ovarian carcinoma. Conclusions: In conclusion, miR-196a may play an important role in the progression of ovarian carcinoma, and could be used as an independent prognostic biomarker for patients with ovarian carcinoma.     

Adsorption of miR-218 by lncRNA HOTAIR regulates PDE7A and affects glioma cell proliferation,invasion, and apoptosis

Objective: To evaluate the role of targeted adsorption of miR-218 by long-chain non-coding RNAHOTAIR to regulate PDE7A on glioma cell proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis. Methods: The expressions of lncRNA HOTAIR, miR-218, and PDE7A in glioma tissues and normal parcancer tissues, NHA and glioma cell lines were determined, and correlations among the three genes were analyzed. The subcellular localization of lncRNA HOTAIR was determined by fluorescent in situ hybridization. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to validate the targeted relationship between lncRNA HOTAIR/miR-218/PDE7A. Glioma cells were grouped to receive intervention of lncRNA HOTAIR or miR-218. MTT, transwell, and flow cytometry were performed to determine the proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis of cells. Results: Compared with the normal tissues and cells, the expression of lncRNA HOTAIR was increased while miR-218 was suppressed in glioma tissues samples and cells (all P<0.05). Inhibition of lncRNA HOTAIR expression, was able to induce apoptosis and suppress the proliferation and invasion of cells (all P<0.05). LncRNA HOTAIR is mainly localized in the cytoplasm, and is able to adsorb miR-218 as ceRNA. The effect of knockdown of HOTAIR on glioma cells could be partially rescued by miR-218 inhibitor. The expression of PDE7A was enhanced in glioma tissues and cells compared to normal tissues and cells (all P<0.05), which positively correlated with the expression of HOTAIR (r=0.546, P<0.05) and negatively correlated with the expression of miR-218 (r=0.363, P<0.05). The targeted relationship between miR-218 and PDE7A was validated: Overexpression of miR-218 was able to suppress the proliferation and invasion of glioma cells and restrain apoptosis compared to the miR-NC group (all P<0.05). The effect of miR-218 on glioma cells could be partially rescued by PDE7A. Conclusion: lncRNA HOTAIR can adsorb miR-218 to regulate expression of PDE7A and promote the malignant biologic behavior of glioma cells.     

Mechanism underlying the regulation of lncRNA ACTA2-AS1 on CXCL2 by absorbing miRNA-532-5p as ceRNA in the development of ovarian cancer

Objective: To explore the mechanism underlying the regulation of long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) ACTA2-AS1 on CXCL2 as a ceRNA of miR-532-5p in the progression of ovarian cancer (OC). Methods: A qRT-PCR assay was carried out for analyzing the expression changes of ACTA2-AS1, miR-532-5p, as well as CXCL2 in OC tissues and corresponding healthy paracancerous tissues HOSEpiC (human ovarian epithelial cells), and OC cells. OC cells were grouped and transfected, and the fluorescent in situ hybridization was adopted for evaluating ACTA2-AS1 in the cells. Additionally, a dual luciferase reporter (DLR) assay was carried out for verifying the correlation of ACTA2-AS1 with miR-532-5p and of miR-532-5p with CXCL2. Cells were transfected with si-ACTA2-AS1, miR-532-5p, or CXCL2 overexpression plasmids, and then the cell proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis were determined using MTT, Transwell, and flow cytometry assays, respectively. Results: Compared with paracancerous tissues and HOSEpiC cells, OC tissues and cells showed increased ACTA2-AS1 and CXCL2 expression and decreased miR-532-5p expression (all P<0.05). ACTA2-AS1 acted as ceRNA in OC by negatively regulating miR-532-5p. Additionally, upregulating ACTA2-AS1 intensified the proliferation and invasion of cancer cells and suppressed their apoptosis (all P<0.05), and inhibition of it resulted in opposite results. In contrast, overexpressing miR-532-5p suppressed the proliferation, invasion, and clone formation of the cells and promoted their apoptosis (all P<0.05). The effect of ACTA2-AS1 on OC cells can be partially reversed by overexpressing miR-532-5p. Moreover, CXCL2, positively correlated with ACTA2-AS1 in expression (P<0.0001, r=0.7385), was the target of miR-532-5p, and its overexpression could partially offset the influence of miR-532-5p on OC cells. Conclusion: LncRNA ACTA2-AS1 can act as a tumor promoter in OC by absorbing miR-532-5p as ceRNA and regulating CXCL2, and ACTA2-AS1 inhibitor is expected to play a role in targeted therapy of OC.     

Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of microRNA-107 in human non small cell lung cancer

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs which can function as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes in human cancers. Researchers have found that the expression level of miR-107 was decreased in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues and cell lines, however, its clinicopathological and prognostic significance in NSCLC has not been investigated. Methods: Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to analyze the expression of miR-107 in 137 pairs of fresh NSCLC and matched adjacent normal tissue specimens. The chi-square test and Fishers exact tests were used to examine the associations between miR-107 expression and the clinicopathological characters. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed by log-rank test, and survival curves were plotted according to Kaplan-Meier. Results: The expression level of miR-107 was significantly lower in tumor tissues than that in corresponding noncancerous tissues (0.4676±0.2078 vs. 1.000±0.3953, P<0.001). Low expression of miR-107 was found to significantly correlate with TNM stage (p=0.001), regional lymph node involvement (p=0.04), and tumor differentiation (p=0.003). Kaplan-Meier analysis with the log-rank test indicated that low miR-107 expression had a significant impact on OS (35.2% vs. 69.3%; P=0.008) and PFS (30.0% vs. 56.2%; P=0.029). In a multivariate Cox model, we found that miR-107 expression was an independent poor prognostic factor for both 5-year OS (HR=2.57, 95% CI: 1.88-10.28; P=0.007) and 5-year PFS (HR=3.08, 95% CI: 2.01-8.92; P=0.003). Conclusion: The expression of miR-107 was decreased in NSCLC. Low expression of miR-107 was significantly associated with tumor progression and decreased survival in patients with NSCLC, indicating that miR-107 may serve as a novel prognostic marker in NSCLC.     

MicroRNA-200a inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line

Objective: Our study investigated the role of microRNA (miR)-200a and its molecular targets in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Methods: An inhibitor of miR-200a was transiently transfected into the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, MHCC-97L. The effect of this transfection on mRNA levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes was measured by fluorescence-based quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Further, protein levels of EMT-related genes, cell proliferation and apoptosis-related markers were assessed by Western blot analysis in these transfected cells. MTT and wound-healing assay were used to evaluate the proliferation and migration of MHCC-97L cells in presence and in absence of miR-200a inhibitor. Results: Compared with miR-NC control group, qRT-PCR results in anti-miR-200a group revealed a significant reduction in the mRNA levels of E-cadherin, with a concomitant increasing in vimentin mRNA level (all P < 0.05). Western blot results showed higher E-cadherin and Caspase-3 protein expressions in anti-miR-200a group compared to miR-NC group (P < 0.05). In addition, vimentin and Ki-67 protein expression was found sharply decreased in anti-miR-200a group compared to miR-NC group (P < 0.05). Consistent with this, wound-healing and MTT assay showed that migration and proliferation capacity of MHCC-97L cells in anti-miR-200a group is significantly increased compared with miR-NC group (both P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our study reveals an important role of miR-200a in inhibiting EMT, proliferation and migration in HCC cells, suggesting the possibility of miR-200a-based therapeutics in HCC.     

MicroRNA-148b is down-regulated in non-small cell lung cancer and associated with poor survival

Background: The aim of this study was to clarify the clinicopathological significance of miRNA-148b (miR-148b) expression in NSCLC, and to explore the correlation between miR-148b level and the prognosis of patients with NSCLC. Methods: 151 patients diagnosed with NSCLC between May 2007 and April 2012 were included in the present study. Real-time RT-PCR method was used to assess the expression levels of miR-148b. The differences between two groups were assessed using Student’s t -test, and the Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate overall survival. Results: The expression of miR-148b was decreased in tumor tissues compared to corresponding adjacent normal lung tissues (0.37 ± 0.12 vs. 1.00 ± 0.53, P < 0.05). Low miR-148b expression was significantly associated with TNM stage (P = 0.014), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.031), and distant metastasis (P = 0.008). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with low expression of miR-148b had significantly worse overall survival rates compared with those who had cancers with high miR-148b expression (log-rank test P = 0.039). Furthermore, multivariate Cox proportional hazards model analysis showed that miR-148b expression was independently associated with overall survival of patients with NSCLC (HR = 2.357, 95% CI: 1.612-9.212, P = 0.011). Conclusion: our data indicate that decreased expression of miR-148b in NSCLC tissues has prognostic value.