Differential expression of hsa-miR-221, hsa-miR-21, hsa-miR-135b, and hsa-miR-29c suggests a field effect in oral cancer

Abstract

BackgroundThe theory of field effect suggests that the tumor-adjacent area, besides histopathologically normal, undergoes genetic and epigenetic changes that can eventually affect epithelial homeostasis, predisposing the patient to cancer development. One of the many molecular changes described in cancer are microRNAs (miRNAs), which regulates the expression of important genes during carcinogenesis. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the field effect in oral cancer.MethodsWe investigated the differential expression profile of four miRNAs (hsa-miR-221, hsa-miR-21, hsa-miR-135b, and hsa-miR-29c) in cancerous oral tissue, in tumor-adjacent tissue and and in non-cancerous tissue samples from healthy volunteers.ResultsOur results showed significant overexpression profiles of all four studied miRNAs in cancerous oral tissue compared to non-cancerous samples, as well as in tumor-adjacent tissue compared to cancer-free tissue. No significant difference was found when comparing the expression profile of cancerous and tissue-adjacent tissue groups. We found a negative correlation between the expression of hsa-miR-21 expression and STAT3 in oral squamous cell carcinoma.ConclusionThese results suggest that the tissue adjacent to cancer cannot be considered a normal tissue because its molecular aspects are significantly altered. Our data corroborates the hypothesis of field cancerization.

MicroRNA expression patterns in oral squamous cell carcinoma: hsa‐mir‐99b‐3p and hsa‐mir‐100‐5p as novel prognostic markers for oral cancer

“…[19][20][21][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] In cell culture studies, overexpression of hsa-mir-21-5p is associated with increased proliferation, migration, invasion, and colony formation as well as an decreased rate of apoptosis by targeting clusterin or PTEN. Numerous studies demonstrated an overexpression of hsa-mir-21-5p in OSCC/HNSCC tissue, blood samples, oral cytology samples, and cell lines.…”

“…Numerous studies demonstrated an overexpression of hsa-mir-21-5p in OSCC/HNSCC tissue, blood samples, oral cytology samples, and cell lines. [19][20][21][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] In cell culture studies, overexpression of hsa-mir-21-5p is associated with increased proliferation, migration, invasion, and colony formation as well as an decreased rate of apoptosis by targeting clusterin or PTEN. 17,18,22,23,51,54 Additionally, upregulated hsa-mir-21-5p has been shown to affect the well-known oncogenic WNT-β-catenin-pathway.…”

Retracted Article: Long noncoding RNA HOTAIR promotes cell apoptosis by sponging miR-221 in Parkinson's disease

“…14 miR-221 has been suggested to be implicated in the development and progression of various cancers, such as ovarian cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and oral cancer. [15][16][17] Moreover, miR-221 is suggested to be down-regulated and to serve as a potential biomarker for PD. 18 Additionally, miR-221 inhibits cell apoptosis and promotes neuronal survival in PD.…”

Effects of alkaline water intake on gastritis and miRNA expression (miR-7, miR-155, miR-135b and miR-29c)

“…Transfection of the miR-7 precursor into AZ521 and Kato III GC cells signi cantly inhibited cell proliferation capacity (13). miR-135b has been described in the literature as an oncomiR in most tumor tissues, such as colon cancer (38), lung cancer (39), oral cancer (40) and breast cancer (41), but few studies have evaluated its role in gastric tissue. Vidal, Cruz (10) observed that miR-135b expression was increased in gastric lesions when compared with normal gastric mucosa but was decreased when gastritis tissue was compared with cancer tissue; thus, its role in the various stages of gastric carcinogenesis remains uncertain.…”