MicroRNA Expression Profiles in Serous Ovarian Carcinoma

Abstract

Purpose: Although microRNAs have recently been recognized as riboregulators of gene expression, little is known about microRNA expression profiles in serous ovarian carcinoma. We assessed the expression of microRNA and the association between microRNA expression and the prognosis of serous ovarian carcinoma. Experimental Design: Twenty patients diagnosed with serous ovarian carcinoma and eight patients treated for benign uterine disease between December 2000 and September 2003 were enrolled in this study. The microRNA expression profiles were examined using DNA microarray and Northern blot analyses. Results: Several microRNAs were differentially expressed in serous ovarian carcinoma compared with normal ovarian tissues, including miR-21, miR-125a, miR-125b, miR-100, miR-145, miR-16, and miR-99a, which were each differentially expressed in >16 patients. In addition, the expression levels of some microRNAs were correlated with the survival in patients with serous ovarian carcinoma. Higher expression of miR-200, miR-141, miR-18a, miR-93, and miR-429, and lower expression of let-7b, and miR-199a were significantly correlated with a poor prognosis (P < 0.05). Conclusion:Our results indicate that dysregulation of microRNAs is involved in ovarian carcinogenesis and associated with the prognosis of serous ovarian carcinoma.

Vasohibin-2 Expressed in Human Serous Ovarian Adenocarcinoma Accelerates Tumor Growth by Promoting Angiogenesis

“…This family comprises 5 members (miR-200a, 200b, 200c, 141, and 429), and they are downregulated in cancer cells due to aberrant epigenetic gene silencing and play a critical role in the suppression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by targeting and repressing the expression of key molecules such as ZEB1 and ZEB that are involved in EMT (33). It is reported that miR-200 family members are frequently dysregulated in human ovarian cancers (34)(35)(36)(37). In this context, it would be interesting to see whether or not VASH2 is involved in the EMT of cancer cells besides its role in angiogenesis.…”

Role of Ribosomal Protein RPS2 in Controlling let-7a Expression in Human Prostate Cancer

“…In studies of the let-7 family miRNAs in various human cancers including lung, colon, ovarian, gastric cancer, leiomyoma, and melanoma, let-7 family members have been described as being downregulated during cancer progression (4,28,(30)(31)(32)(33). Although it is not understood how this relates to cancer progression, the targets of let-7a-1 identified include cell-cycle regulators such as CDC25A and CDK (2, 34) that function as key promoters of Ha-ras and c-myc expression (26-27, 29, 31, 34, 35) and a number of early embryonic genes including HMGA2, Mlin-41, and IMP-1 (36-41).…”

Marine fungal metabolite 1386A alters the microRNA profile in MCF-7 breast cancer cells

“…What is more, miR-93 promotes tumor growth and angiogenesis by targeting the integrin-β8 oncogene (62). Another study showed that higher expression of miR-93 was significantly correlated with a poor prognosis in serous ovarian carcinoma (63). The down-regulaion of miR-25 and miR-93 after 1386A treatment explains the inhibited proliferation of MCF-7 cells.…”