Circulating miR-15b, miR-34a and miR-218 as promising novel early low-invasive biomarkers of cervical carcinogenesis

Laurencia johnstonii extract reverses early lesions in the K14E7HPV16 murine cervical carcinogenesis model

Persistent infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) is a well-established risk factor to the development of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), a condition that can progress to cervical cancer (CC) a major health problem worldwide. Recently, there has been growing interest in exploring alternative therapies utilizing natural products, among which is the algae species Laurencia johnstonii Setchell & Gardner, 1924 (L. johnstonii), proposed for the management of precancerous lesions. The aim of this work was to determine the effect of an organic extract from L. johnstonii (ELj) in early cervical lesions (CIN 1). These CIN 1 lesions were generated in a murine model expressing the HR-HPV16 E7 oncoprotein (K14E7HPV transgenic mice) with a single exogenous hormonal stimulus using 17β-estradiol. The histopathological studies, the determination of cell proliferation and of the apoptotic levels in cervical tissue, showed that, seven doses of ELj (30 mg/kg weight per day diluted in a DMSO-saline solution [1:7]) lead to recovery the architecture of cervical epithelium. Accordingly, in the transgenic mice it was observed a statistically significant decrease of the PCNA expression levels, a marker of cell proliferation, and a statistically significant increase in the apoptosis levels using Caspase 3 as a marker. In addition, we determined the expression levels of the tumor suppressor miR-218 and the oncomiRNA miR-21. Interestingly, our results may suggest that ELj treatment tended to restore the normal expression of both miRNAs as compared with controls being more evident in the non-transgenic induced mice. Differences of p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant through the whole study. Based on these results, we propose that the use of ELj could be an alternative for the treatment of cervical early lesions.

Circulating cervical cancer biomarkers potentially useful in medical attention (Review)

Cervical cancer (CC) is a public health problem worldwide, including Mexico. This type of cancer is the fourth most frequent in women worldwide; in Mexico it is the second most common type in women after breast cancer. The diagnosis of CC is based mainly on Pap smears and colposcopy and the identification of molecular tools that serve as a support for these methods is urgent. Regarding this, differential expressions of specific circulating biomolecules has been detected and, based on this, they have been postulated as potential biomarkers for CC diagnosis, prognosis, and/or to identify the response to treatments. Importantly, the combined analysis of these molecules considerably improves their efficacy as biomarkers and their potential use in the medical attention is promising.

Systematic review of circulating MICRORNAS as biomarkers of cervical carcinogenesis

Background

Cervical cancer is a preventable disease, but it is a major public health problem despite having a good prognosis when diagnosed early. Although the Pap smear has led to huge drops in rates of cervical cancer and death from the disease, it has some limitations, making new approaches necessary for early diagnosis and biomarkers discovery. MiRNAs have been considered a new class of non-invasive biomarkers and may have great clinical value for screening early-stage cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Well-designed studies have emerged as a necessary strategy for the identification of miRNAs that could be used safely and reliably for a differential diagnosis. This review aims to provide an up-to-date perspective on the assessment of circulating miRNA expression from precursor lesions to cervical cancer, identifying circulating miRNAs or specific miRNA signatures that can be used as potential biomarkers of different stages of cervical carcinogenesis.

Methods

A systematic review was performed and searches were conducted in the PubMed, LILACS, and Scopus electronic databases.

Results

Most studies involved Chinese ethnic women and searched for circulating miRNAs in serum samples. Thirty three microRNAs were evaluated in the eligible studies and 17 (miR-196a, miR-16-2, miR-497, miR-1290, miR-425-5p, hsa-miR- 92a, miR-1266, miR-9, miR-192, miR-205, miR-21, miR-152, miR-15b, miR-34a, miR-218, miR-199a-5p and miR-155-5p) showed up-regulation in women with precursor lesion and cervical cancer and 16 microRNAs showed decreased expression in these same groups of women compared to healthy controls (miR-195, miR-2861, miR-145, miR-214, miR-34a, miR-200a, let-7d-3p, miR-30d-5p, miR-638, miR-203a-3p, miR-1914-5p, miR-521, miR-125b, miR-370, miR-218 and miR-100).

Conclusion

Therefore, defining promising circulating miRNAs or specific miRNA signatures of biological fluid samples can be useful for the screening, diagnosis, prognosis and clinical monitoring of women undergoing cervical carcinogenesis, but greater standardization of studies seems to be necessary for greater consolidation of information.

Non-coding RNAs in Wilms' tumor: biological function, mechanism, and clinical implications

Non-coding RNAs are involved with maintenance and regulation of physiological mechanisms and are involved in pathological processes, such as cancer. Among the small ncRNAs, miRNAs are the most explored in tumorigenesis, metastasis development, and resistance to chemotherapy. These small molecules of ~ 22 nucleotides are modulated during early renal development, involved in the regulation of gene expression and Wilms' tumor progression. Wilms' tumors are embryonic tumors with few mutations and complex epigenetic dysregulation. In recent years, the small ncRNAs have been explored as potentially related both in physiological development and in the tumorigenesis of several types of cancer. Besides, genes regulated by miRNAs are related to biological pathways as PI3K, Wnt, TGF-β, and Hippo signaling pathways, among others, which may be involved with the underlying mechanisms of resistance to chemotherapy, and in this way, it has emerged as potential targets for cancer therapies, including for Wilms' tumors.