Project description:MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that regulate mRNA function. Recent studies have shown that microRNA expression is altered in tumors. We studied the expression of both microRNAs and mRNAs in 60 primary prostate tumors and 16 non-tumor prostate tissues to evaluate the involvement of microRNAs in prostate cancer. Global microRNA expression was determined in RNA isolated from fresh-frozen human tissues with a custom oligonucleotide microarray chip. Expression analysis of mRNAs using Affymetrix gene chips revealed that Dicer, a key component of microRNA processing, and two microRNA host genes, MCM7 and C9orf5, were significantly up-regulated in prostate tumors. Consistent with the findings, tumors expressed at higher levels the miR-25 cluster (miR-25/miR-93/miR-106b), which maps to intron 13 of MCM7, and miR-32, which maps to intron 14 of C9orf5, than non-tumor prostate tissues. Other microRNAs that were overexpressed included miR-26a, miR-31, miR-182, miR-196a, and miR-200c, among others, and homologues of the miR-25 cluster, such as miR-92 and miR-106a. Among the down-regulated microRNAs in tumors were the miR-1/miR-133a cluster, miR-490, miR-494 and miR-520h. Differences in microRNA expression were also observed between high and low Gleason score and between tumors that either showed or did not show extraprostatic extension. A 37-probeset signature, representing 23 different mature microRNAs, correctly classified all non-tumor tissues and 80% of the tumors. In summary, our data indicate that alterations in microRNA expression occur in the development and progression of human prostate cancer. Such changes may prove useful in the development of novel diagnostic and prognostic markers. Keywords: Marcodissected tissues Sixty fresh-frozen prostate tumors were obtained from the NCI Cooperative Prostate Cancer Tissue Resource (CPCTR) and the Department of Pathology at the University of Maryland (UMD). All tumors were resected adenocarcinomas that had not received any therapy prior to prostatectomy. The macro-dissected CPCTR tumor specimens were reviewed by a CPCTR-associated pathologist, who confirmed the presence of tumor in the frozen specimens. Surrounding non-tumor prostate tissue was collected from 16 patients with prostate cancer. All tissues were collected between 2002 and 2004. Information on race/ethnicity was either extracted from medical records (CPCTR) or obtained through an epidemiological questionnaire (UMD). Clinicopathological characteristics of the patients, including age at prostatectomy, histology, Gleason score, pathological stage, PSA at diagnosis, tumor size, extraprostatic extension, margin involvement, and seminal vesicle invasion were obtained from CPCTR. For UMD cases, this information was extracted from the medical and pathology records, if available. The study was approved by the institutional review boards of the participating institutions. Total RNA was isolated using the TRIZOL reagent according to the manufacturer’s instructions (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). RNA integrity for each sample was confirmed with the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA). Each RNA was then split into two pools that were either processed for the microRNA microarray or the mRNA microarray.
Project description:A critical question in molecular oncology is how extensive is the involvement of non-codingRNAs (ncRNAs) in human tumorigenesis. Herein, we report that a large fraction of genomic ultraconserved regions (UCRs) are encoding a particular set of ncRNAs and are altered in human cancers. We show that UCRs are frequently located at fragile sites and genomic regions involved in cancers, and that genome-wide UCRs profiling reveals distinct signatures in human leukemias and carcinomas. We proved that the inhibition of an overexpressed UCR induces apoptosis in colon cancer cells, and we identified UCRs whose expression may be regulated by miRNAs abnormally expressed in human chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Our findings argue that non-coding genes are involved in tumorigenesis at a greater extent as thought before and offer the perspective of identification of signatures associated with diagnosis, prognosis and response to treatment composed by various categories of ncRNA genes.
Project description:Apart from alterations in the RET/PTC-RAS-BRAF pathway, comparatively little is known about the genetics of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). We show that numerous miRNAs are transcriptionally up-regulated in PTC tumors compared with unaffected thyroid tissue. A set of 5 miRNAs including the 3 most upregulated ones (miRs 221, 222, 146) distinguished unequivocally between PTC and normal thyroid. Additionally, miR-221 was upregulated in unaffected thyroid tissue in several PTC patients, presumably an early event in carcinogenesis. Tumors in which the upregulation (11-19 fold) of miRs 221, 222 and 146 was strongest showed dramatic loss of KIT transcript and Kit protein. In five of 10 such cases this was associated with germline single nucleotide changes in the two recognition sequences in KIT for these miRNAs. We conclude that upregulation of several miRs and down regulation of KIT are involved in PTC pathogenesis, and that sequence changes in genes targeted by miRNAs can contribute to their downregulation.
Project description:microRNA expression microarray data for analysis of BAALC- and ERG-related miR-expression signatures in older patients with cytogenetically normal AML. The signal intensity was calculated for each spot making an adjustment for local background (i.e., mean foreground minus the median background). Signal intensities less than one were set equal to one and then log-transformed. Log-intensities from replicate spots were averaged. Quantile normalization was performed on arrays using all human and mouse microRNA probes represented on the array. For each microRNA probe, an adjustment was made for batch effects (ie, differences in expression related to the batch in which arrays were hybridized). The normalized data has not been submitted to ArrayExpress.
Project description:MicroRNA expression profiles in response to LBH589 were examined in order to identify HDACi-induced alterations in miRNA expression that regulate apoptotic signaling in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.plasia. miRNA microarray analysis identified unique alterations in miRNA profile that could be used to identify new pathways for apoptosis regulation in CLL.