Abstract 4247: MicroRNA profile of the human colonic crypt base region is predictive of colon cancer

Abstract

Abstract Dysregulation of crypt cell proliferation and differentiation has been implicated in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC). It is believed that human colonic crypt renewal involves programmed cellular proliferation initiated by a few (6-8) stem cells residing at or near the bottom of the crypt, and that stem cell (SC) overpopulation may be the key to CRC initiation. As part of our investigation of regulatory factors involved in the stem cell origin of CRC, we investigated the role that microRNAs (miRNAs) might play in colon carcinogenesis. miRNAs are RNAs 20-24 nucleotides long that were recently shown to modulate many cellular signaling pathways through post-transcriptional regulation of messenger RNA (mRNA) levels and thus protein synthesis. Our previous microarray analysis (368 gene chip) showed increased expression of 37 miRNAs in CRCs compared to normal colonic epithelium. Here we further evaluated miRNA expression in CRC versus purified colonic epithelium by quantitative PCR (QPCR). Total RNA was immediately isolated from tissue by the TrizolTM method. RNA was transcribed into first-strand complementary DNA (cDNA) through reverse transcription (RT). cDNA was then amplified through QPCR. Statistical analysis and plots of expression data for miRNAs were done to find miRNA genes that are differentially expressed. We found, using QPCR, five miRNAs to be differentially expressed in CRCs versus normal colonic epithelium including mir-25 and mir-198. Profiling of purified colonic crypt subregions showed that a distinct signature involving 16 differentially expressed miRNAs characterizes the crypt bottom. This miRNA signature of the crypt bottom was found to be predictive of CRC. Out of the sixteen, three miRNAs (mir-206, mir- 7 and mir-25) were independently capable to distinguish colorectal tissue from normal colonic epithelia (p<0.01). Because this subset of miRNAs is differentially expressed in the crypt bottom, where SC resides, they may be involved in regulating SC population dynamics and contribute to the SC origin of CRC. Further identification and characterization of miRNAs expressed specifically in SC and changes in their expression in CRCs will provide important information to help understand mechanisms of colon tumorigenesis. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4247.