TITLE:
MicroRNA-21, 204 and 125b Play Potential Roles in Tumorigenesis of Melanoma
AUTHORS:
Chengtan Li, Xiayu Wang, Ya’ni Chen, Xiaohua Tan, Wen Li, Sheng Yan, Weibin Cai, Xianrong Xu, Liangwen Xu, Lei Yang, Yutao Yan
KEYWORDS:
Melanoma, miRNA, Systematic Analysis, Programmed Cell Death, Transcription
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology,
Vol.6 No.12,
December
10,
2015
ABSTRACT: Aim: The high mortality rate of melanoma is due to partially the lack of good diagnostic markers
and treatment strategies. Over the past several years, several microRNA (miRNA) profiling studies
have been performed on melanoma tissues, but with extremely inconsistency, the diagnostic value
of miRNA candidates in melanoma remains under debate. Thus, this study aims to systematically
evaluate the consistency of miRNAs tissue in multiple independent studies in melanoma. Method:
Eligible studies were screened and selected from the PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science. A systematic
analysis of published miRNA expression studies that compared the miRNA expression
profiles between melanoma tissues and normal skin tissue was conducted. A vote-counting strategy
was followed with the collection of information. Real time PCRs were employed to validate
miRNA candidates with high consistency. Targets of consistent miRNAs were predicted by online
programs (like miRTarBase, microRNA.org and TargetScanHuman 6.2). Enrichment analyses for
gene ontology (GO) terms and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathways were
carried out with Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). Results:
A total of 303 differentially expressed miRNAs were reported in the 10 miRNA-profiling studies
during comparison of melanoma tissues with normal tissues; 132 were up-regulated in melanoma,
and 171 were down-regulated. However, in the group of consistently reported miRNAs
(cutoff > 3 times), only moderate numbers of consistent and differentially expressed miRNAs were
selected. miRNA-21 was found increased in 5 different studies, miRNA-146b, miRNA-17 and miRNA-18a were reported up-regulated in 4 profiling studies. Meanwhile, miRNA-204 and miRNA-125b were found down-regulated in 5 studies, miRNA-141, miRNA-149, miRNA-224, miRNA-200b,
miRNA-200c were consistently decreased in just 4 out of 10 profiling studies in total. The directions
of differential expression of these miRNA candidates were confirmed by real time PCRs.
Enrichment analyses demonstrated that programmed cell death and transcription regulation played very important roles in the involvement of miRNAs in tumorigenesis of melanoma. Conclusion:
This systematic study of melanoma miRNA profiling studies would provide rich information
on miRNAs with potential role as the biomarkers and therapeutic agents with high consistency in
melanoma.