Differential Expression Profile of miR-27b, miR-29a, and miR-155 in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Breast Cancer Patients

Farzaneh Raeisi,Esmaeil Mahmoudi,Mina Dehghani-Samani,Seyedeh Sahar Ebrahimi Hosseini,Ameneh Mehri Ghahfarrokhi,Asghar Arshi,Kayvan Forghanparast,Samaneh Ghazanfari

doi:10.1016/j.omto.2020.01.004

Abstract

Over the past decade, studies on microRNA (miRNA) and cancer quickly became known. miRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that play a vital role in regulation of gene expression. In the present study, the expression of miR-27b, miR-29a, and miR-155, their prognostic roles, and their potential targets in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and breast cancer (BC) by qRT-PCR were investigated. In two case-control studies, qRT-PCR was used to analyze the peripheral blood serum of 15 CLL patients and tissue samples of 15 BC patients for the expression of miR-27b, miR-29a, and miR-155. miRNA expression levels were calculated using the qRT-PCR method. The results revealed a significant increase in the expression of all miRNAs in patients with BC and CLL compared with respective healthy groups (p < 0.001). In BC patients, there was a significant difference between the expression of miR-155 and miR-29a (p < 0.05), miR-155 and miR-27b (p < 0.01), and miR-27b and miR-29a (p < 0.001). In CLL patients, a significant difference between expression of both miR-27b and miR-29a compared with expression of miR-155 (p < 0.001) was found. Furthermore, a significant association between miR-155 and prevascular invasion was found. Significantly, elevated circulating miRNAs were shown to be BC specific and could differentiate BC tissues from the controls. It was demonstrated that miRNAs used in this study and their expression profiles can be developed as biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis of CLL and BC. Further studies utilizing a larger test group of patients would provide identification of miRNAs as key players in intercellular interactions.

Highlights

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is known as one of the most common leukemias in elderly people and is characterized by the accumulation of mature leukemic B lymphocytes in peripheral blood, lymphatic organs, and bone marrow
Comparing expression of miRNAs between breast cancer (BC) and CLL patients (Figure 3), we found a significant difference for all miRNAs (p < 0.001)
The results revealed that miR-27b, miR-29a, and miR-155 were significantly upregulated in BC as compared with non-tumor tissues

Summary

Introduction

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is known as one of the most common leukemias in elderly people and is characterized by the accumulation of mature leukemic B lymphocytes in peripheral blood, lymphatic organs, and bone marrow. 230 Molecular Therapy: Oncolytics Vol 16 March 2020 a 2020 The Authors. Www.moleculartherapy.org miRNAs are involved in multiple biological processes, including differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, and stress response through regulation of gene expression. Up to 30% of human genes are regulated by these small non-coding RNAs. miRNAs are largely conserved between species and in blood or tissue samples; they are more resistant to degradation than mRNAs. More than 1,000 miRNAs are known in human at present.[9] These molecules are responsible for the regulation of various physiological processes, and alterations in their expression levels can reflect different pathological conditions. MiRNAs are stable and can be quantified using different molecular techniques,[10,11] such as qRT-PCR.[12]

Methods

Results

Conclusion