Research has shown that microRNAs are promising biomarkers that can be used to promote a more accurate diagnosis of cancer. In this study, we developed an integrated multi-step selection process to analyze available high-throughput datasets to obtain information on microRNAs as cancer biomarkers.
Applying this approach to the microRNA expression profiles of prostate cancer and the datasets in The Cancer Genome Atlas Data Portal, we identified miRNA-182, miRNA-200c and miRNA-221 as possible biomarkers for prostate cancer. The associations between the expressions of these three microRNAs with clinical parameters as well as their diagnostic capability were studied. Several online databases were used to predict the target genes of these three microRNAs, and the results were confirmed by significant statistical correlations. Comparing with the other 18 types of cancers listed in The Cancer Genome Atlas Data Portal, we found that the combination of both miRNA-182 and miRNA-200c being up-regulated and miRNA-221 being down-regulated only happens in prostate cancer. This provides a unique biological characteristic for prostate cancer that can potentially be used for diagnosis based on tissue testing. In addition, our study also revealed that these three microRNAs are associated with the pathological status of prostate cancer.
PloS one. 2015 Oct 20*** epublish ***
Yinmin Gu, Danqing Lei, Xia Qin, Panyu Chen, Yi Ming Zou, Yanling Hu
Experimental Center of Medical Sciences, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China. , Experimental Center of Medical Sciences, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China. , Dermatological Department, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China. , Experimental Center of Medical Sciences, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China. , Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States of America. , Experimental Center of Medical Sciences, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China; Center for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.