Expression of microRNA-183 in stage II ( gastric cancer and its association with Ezrin protein

Abstract

To investigate the expression of microRNA-183 (miR-183) and Ezrin protein in stage II( gastric cancer (GC). Specimens of stage II( GC and paracancer tissues (5 cm away from the tumor tissues) were collected from 72 patients. Real-time PCR was used to detect the miR-183 expression. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the Ezrin protein expression in the tumor tissue. The associations of miR-183 expression with the clinicopathologic features of stage II( GC and Ezrin expression were analyzed. miR-183 expression was lower in stage II( gastric cancer tissues compared with the paracancer tissues samples(median relative expression, 0.676 vs. 1.000, P<0.05). Low expression of miR-183 was significantly associated with histological differentiation(0.429 vs. 0.907, P<0.05), lymph node metastasis(0.507 vs. 0.908, P<0.05). The survival was shorter in patient with low expression of miR-183(63.0±4.0) as compared to those with high expression of miR-183(75.2±3.8)(P<0.05). There was a negative correlation between the expression of miR-183 and Ezrin(r=-0.272, P<0.05). miR-183 is down-regulated in stage II( GC, and associated with the differentiation, metastasis, and prognosis. Ezrin is a potential regulatory protein of miR-183.