Pan-cancer analysis on microRNA-associated gene activation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

While microRNAs (miRNAs) were widely considered to repress target genes at mRNA and/or protein levels, emerging evidence from in vitro experiments has shown that miRNAs can also activate gene expression in particular contexts. However, this counterintuitive observation has rarely been reported or interpreted in in vivo conditions.

Methods

We systematically explored the positive correlation between miRNA and gene expressions and its potential implications in tumorigenesis, based on 8375 patient samples across 31 major human cancers from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA).

Findings

We found that positive miRNA-gene correlations are surprisingly prevalent and consistent across cancer types, and show distinct patterns than negative correlations. The top-ranked posi

SUBMITTER: Tan H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6557760 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature