MicroRNAs as Potential Biomarkers in Pituitary Adenomas

Abstract

Pituitary adenomas (PAs) are one of the most common lesions of intracranial neoplasms, occurring in approximately 15% of the general population. They are typically benign, although some adenomas show aggressive behavior, exhibiting rapid growth, drug resistance, and invasion of surrounding tissues. Despite ongoing improvements in diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, late first diagnosis is common, and patients with PAs are prone to relapse. Therefore, earlier diagnosis and prevention of recurrence are of importance to improve patient care. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding single stranded RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. An increasing number of studies indicate that a deregulation of their expression patterns is related with pituitary tumorigenesis, suggesting that these small molecules could play a critical role in contributing to tumorigenesis and the onset of these tumors by acting either as oncosuppressors or as oncogenes, depending on the biological context. This paper provides an overview of miRNAs involved in PA tumorigenesis, which might serve as novel potential diagnostic and prognostic non-invasive biomarkers, and for the future development of miRNA-based therapeutic strategies for PAs.

Mitochondrial microRNAs Are Dysregulated in Patients with Fabry Disease

“…We and others have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs of ~22 nucleotides, may serve as reliable biomarkers of various human disorders (Keller et al, 2014;Santulli et al, 2014;Sardu et al, 2014;Novak et al, 2015;Santulli, 2015;Santulli, 2016;Cammarata et al, 2018;Slota and Booth, 2019;Dama et al, 2020;Donati et al, 2021;Jankauskas et al, 2021;Kanach et al, 2021;Kansakar et al, 2022). Therefore, the microRNAs profile could be a promising biomarker candidate…”

Pituitary Tumorigenesis—Implications for Management

“…Furthermore, pituitary stem cells have been identified in PitNETs, implying their crucial role in pituitary oncogenesis [18]. However, miRNAs seem to hold an essential role since they may provide new molecular targets for their diagnosis and treatment [19].…”

Emerging Roles of miRNA, lncRNA, circRNA, and Their Cross-Talk in Pituitary Adenoma

“…Among the abundant DE ncRNAs, miRNAs are the most widely studied. We discuss the role of miRNAs in different PA subtypes in tissues, biofluids, and cell-free environments [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 37 ]. miRNAs inhibit the expression of target genes at the post-transcriptional level by pairing with the 3′-UTR of mRNA ( Figure 1 ); thus, miRNAs are involved in various pathological and physiological processes by playing a negative role in cell proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, and apoptosis.…”