Ultra-Deep Sequencing Reveals the microRNA Expression Pattern of the Human Stomach

Abstract

BackgroundWhile microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in tissue differentiation and in maintaining basal physiology, little is known about the miRNA expression levels in stomach tissue. Alterations in the miRNA profile can lead to cell deregulation, which can induce neoplasia.Methodology/Principal FindingsA small RNA library of stomach tissue was sequenced using high-throughput SOLiD sequencing technology. We obtained 261,274 quality reads with perfect matches to the human miRnome, and 42% of known miRNAs were identified. Digital Gene Expression profiling (DGE) was performed based on read abundance and showed that fifteen miRNAs were highly expressed in gastric tissue. Subsequently, the expression of these miRNAs was validated in 10 healthy individuals by RT-PCR showed a significant correlation of 83.97% (P<0.05). Six miRNAs showed a low variable pattern of expression (miR-29b, miR-29c, miR-19b, miR-31, miR-148a, miR-451) and could be considered part of the expression pattern of the healthy gastric tissue.Conclusions/SignificanceThis study aimed to validate normal miRNA profiles of human gastric tissue to establish a reference profile for healthy individuals. Determining the regulatory processes acting in the stomach will be important in the fight against gastric cancer, which is the second-leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide.

MicroRNA-148a Suppresses Tumor Cell Invasion and Metastasis by Downregulating ROCK1 in Gastric Cancer

“…Recently, it is reported that miR-148a is subjected to epigenetic regulation in various tumors including gastric cancer (18)(19)(20), which may explain the downregulation of miR148a in gastric cancer. Interestingly, Ribeiro-dos-Santos and colleagues using next-generation sequencing technology reveal that miR-148a is specific to be overexpressed in healthy gastric tissues (21). Together with our results, these data suggest that miR-148a is likely to play a crucial role in gastric tissue homeostasis, when dysregulated, may contribute to the development of a stomach neoplasia.…”

Role of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in gastric cancer: An in-depth literature review

“…Moreover, miRNA expression profiling in many kind of cancers has shown that certain miRNAs can function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors, and their misexpression and dysregulation contribute to the tumorigenic process [157] . A miRNA expression profile in normal gastric tissues have been described [158] . Moreover, an increasing number of studies have shown dysregulation of miRNAs in gastric cancer tissues and their potential use as biomarker for this disease [66][67][68] .…”

The Potential Role of miR-451 in Cancer Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Therapy

“…Tsuchiya and colleagues found that miR-338-3p and miR-451 contributed to the formation of basolateral polarity in epithelial cells (46). Ribeiro-dos-Santos and colleagues validated normal miRNA profiles of human gastric tissue to establish a reference profile for healthy individuals using highthroughput SOLiD sequencing technology (47). miR-29b, miR-29c, miR-19b, miR-31, miR-148a, and miR-451 were highly expressed in gastric tissue and could be considered as a part of the miRNA expression pattern of healthy gastric tissue (47).…”

“…Ribeiro-dos-Santos and colleagues validated normal miRNA profiles of human gastric tissue to establish a reference profile for healthy individuals using highthroughput SOLiD sequencing technology (47). miR-29b, miR-29c, miR-19b, miR-31, miR-148a, and miR-451 were highly expressed in gastric tissue and could be considered as a part of the miRNA expression pattern of healthy gastric tissue (47). Likewise, another study detected miR-451 expression in epithelial cells by in situ hybridization and found that miR-451 expression was decreased in gastric and colorectal cancer tissues compared with nontumor tissues (16).…”