Differential microRNA expression profiling in primary tumors and matched liver metastasis of patients with colorectal cancer.

Wenhua Li,Dan Huang,Weijian Guo,Duo Tong,Wen Zhang,Junjie Peng,Jinjia Chang,Jin Li

doi:10.18632/oncotarget.16206

Abstract

BackgroundLiver metastasis is common in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), and is correlated with poor outcome. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs involved in cancer development and progression, but their role in CRC liver metastasis has not been extensively investigated.ResultsThirteen miRNAs were deregulated in pCRCs compared to their matched liver metastases. Seventeen miRNAs were chosen for validation, which confirmed significantly reduced expression of miR-99b-5p, miR-377 and miR-200c and increased expression of miR-196b-5p in the tissue of liver metastasis. Furthermore, miR-200c and miR-196b-5p were positively correlated with shorter overall survival in pCRC patients with liver metastasis.Materials and MethodsFirstly, affymetrix microarrays involving 1036 miRNAs were performed in two pairs of primary CRCs (pCRCs) and their matched liver metastases. Secondly, validation of the results was carried out on an independent cohort of 48 pairs of pCRCs and matched liver metastases using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay.ConclusionsWe discovered a pCRC liver metastasis-specific miRNA panel including miR-377, miR-99b-5p, miR-200c and miR-196b-5p through intensive validation. These miRNAs may function as prognostic factors in patients with metastatic CRC.

Highlights

Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks as the third most prevalent cancer and the third leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide [1]
MiR-200c and miR-196b-5p were positively correlated with shorter overall survival in primary colorectal cancer (pCRC) patients with liver metastasis
We identified 13 microRNAs whose expression levels differed between pCRC and liver metastasis tissues with a fold-change of > 1.5

Summary

Introduction

Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks as the third most prevalent cancer and the third leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide [1]. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous, small (17–25 nucleotides), noncoding, single-stranded, evolutionarily conserved RNA molecules that regulate target gene expression by interfering with their transcription or by inhibiting translation. MiRNAs are known to be involved in the process of tumor cell growth, invasion and metastasis of CRC by regulating the expression of down-stream target genes [4,5,6,7]. MiR-192 inhibits liver metastases by down-regulating the expression B-cell lymphoma 2, vascular endothelial growth factor A, and zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 2 [4]. Liver metastasis is common in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), and is correlated with poor outcome. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs involved in cancer development and progression, but their role in CRC liver metastasis has not been extensively investigated

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