Identification of miR-143-3p as a diagnostic biomarker in gastric cancer

• Published in: BMC medical genomics 2023-06, Vol.16 (1), p.135-135, Article 135
• Main Authors: Ju, Yeongdon, Choi, Go-Eun, Lee, Moon Won, Jeong, Myeongguk, Kwon, Hyeokjin, Kim, Dong Hyeok, Kim, Jungho, Jin, Hyunwoo, Lee, Kyung Eun, Hyun, Kyung-Yae, Jang, Aelee
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 1-Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; AKT protein; Bioinformatics; Biological markers; Biomarker; Biomarkers; Cancer; CD44 antigen; Chromosome 3; Cytoplasm; Diagnosis; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; Extracellular matrix; Gastric cancer; Gelatinase A; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genomes; Genomics; Health aspects; Identification and classification; Instrument industry; Metalloproteinase; Metastasis; Methods; MicroRNA; MicroRNAs; miR-143-3p; miRNA; Molecular diagnostic techniques; Mortality; Ontology; Protein binding; Protein kinases; Protein-protein interactions; Proteins; Proteoglycans; Signal transduction; Smad protein; Smad3 protein; Software; Stomach cancer; Tumors; United States
• ISSN: 1755-8794; 1755-8794
• DOI: 10.1186/s12920-023-01554-3

Gastric cancer (GC) is among the most common types of gastrointestinal cancers and has a high incidence and mortality around the world. To suppress the progression of GC, it is essential to develop diagnostic markers. MicroRNAs regulate GC development, but a clearer insight into their role is needed before they can be applied as a molecular markers and targets. In this study, we assessed the diagnostic value of differentially expressed microRNAs as potential diagnostic biomarkers for GC using data for 389 tissue samples from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and 21 plasma samples from GC patients. The expression of hsa-miR-143-3p (also known as hsa-miR-143) was significantly downregulated in GC according to the TCGA data and plasma samples. The 228 potential target genes of hsa-miR-143-3p were analyzed using a bioinformatics tool for miRNA target prediction. The target genes correlated with extracellular matrix organization, the cytoplasm, and identical protein binding. Furthermore, the pathway enrichment analysis of target genes showed that they were involved in pathways in cancer, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathway, and proteoglycans in cancer. The hub genes in the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, were matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP2), CD44 molecule (CD44), and SMAD family member 3 (SMAD3). This study suggests that hsa-miR-143-3p may be used as a diagnostic marker for GC, contributing via the pathways involved in the development of GC.