A survey of microRNA single nucleotide polymorphisms identifies novel breast cancer susceptibility loci in a case-control, population-based study of African-American women

Differences in Serum miRNA Profiles by Race, Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status: Implications for Developing an Equitable Ovarian Cancer Screening Test

Serum miRNAs are promising biomarkers for several clinical conditions, including ovarian cancer. To inform equitable implementation of these tests, we investigated the effects of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status on serum miRNA profiles. Serum samples from a large institutional biobank were analyzed using a custom panel of 179 miRNA species highly expressed in human serum, measured using the Abcam Fireplex assay via flow cytometry. Data were log-transformed prior to analysis. Differences in miRNA by race and ethnicity were assessed using logistic regression. Pairwise t tests analyzed racial and ethnic differences among eight miRNAs previously associated with ovarian cancer risk. Pearson correlations determined the relationship between mean miRNA expression and the social deprivation index (SDI) for Massachusetts residents. Of 1,586 patients (76.9% white, non-Hispanic), compared with white, non-Hispanic patients, those from other racial and ethnic groups were younger (41.9 years ± 13.2 vs. 51.3 ± 15.1, P < 0.01) and had fewer comorbidities (3.5 comorbidities ± 2.7 vs. 4.6 ± 2.8, P < 0.01). On logistic regression, miRNAs predicted race and ethnicity at an AUC of 0.69 (95% confidence interval, 0.66-0.72), which remained consistent when stratified by most comorbidities. Among eight miRNAs previously associated with ovarian cancer risk, seven significantly varied by race and ethnicity (all P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in SDI for any of these eight miRNAs. miRNA expression is significantly influenced by race and ethnicity, which remained consistent after controlling for confounders. Understanding baseline differences in biomarker test characteristics prior to clinical implementation is essential to ensure instruments perform comparably across diverse populations.

PREVENTION RELEVANCE

This study aimed to understand factors affecting miRNA expression, to ensure we create equitable screening tests for ovarian cancer that perform well in diverse populations. The goal is to ensure that we are detecting ovarian cancer cases earlier (secondary prevention) in women of all races, ethnic backgrounds, and socioeconomic means.

The Impact of microRNA SNPS on Breast Cancer: Potential Biomarkers for Disease Detection

Breast cancer is considered a significant health concern worldwide, with genetic predisposition playing a critical role in its etiology. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), particularly those within the 3' untranslated regions (3'UTRs) of target genes, are emerging as key factors in breast cancer susceptibility. Specifically, miRNAs have been recognized as possible novel approach for biomarkers discovery for both prognosis and diagnosis due to their direct association with cancer progression. Regional disparities in breast cancer incidence underscore the need for precise interventions, considering socio-cultural and economic factors. This review explores into the differential effects of SNP-miRNA interactions on breast cancer risk, emphasizing both risk-enhancing and protective associations across diverse populations. Furthermore, it explores the clinical implications of these findings, highlighting the potential of personalized approaches in breast cancer management. Additionally, it reviews the evolving therapeutic prospect of microRNAs (miRNAs), extending beyond cancer therapeutics to encompass various diseases, indicative of their versatility as therapeutic agents.

Exosomal miR-1304-3p promotes breast cancer progression in African Americans by activating cancer-associated adipocytes

Breast cancer displays disparities in mortality between African Americans and Caucasian Americans. However, the exact molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we identify miR-1304-3p as the most upregulated microRNA in African American patients. Importantly, its expression significantly correlates with poor progression-free survival in African American patients. Ectopic expression of miR-1304 promotes tumor progression in vivo. Exosomal miR-1304-3p activates cancer-associated adipocytes that release lipids and enhance cancer cell growth. Moreover, we identify the anti-adipogenic gene GATA2 as the target of miR-1304-3p. Notably, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located in the miR-1304 stem-loop region shows a significant difference in frequencies of the G allele between African and Caucasian American groups, which promotes the maturation of miR-1304-3p. Therefore, our results reveal a mechanism of the disparity in breast cancer progression and suggest a potential utility of miR-1304-3p and the associated SNP as biomarkers for predicting the outcome of African American patients.

Differential impact of the angiotensin‑converting enzyme‑2 (ACE2 rs4343 G>A) and miR‑196a2 rs11614913 C>T gene alterations in COVID‑19 disease severity and mortality

The recent coronavirus outbreak from Wuhan China in late 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) resulted in a global pandemic of coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19). Understating the underlying mechanism of the pathogenesis of coronavirus infection is important not only because it will help in accurate diagnosis and treatment of the infection but also in the production of effective vaccines. The infection begins when SARS-CoV-2 enters the cells through binding of its envelope glycoprotein to angiotensin-converting enzyme2 (ACE2). Gene variations of ACE2 and microRNA (miR)-196 are associated with viral infection and other diseases. The present study investigated the association of the ACE2 rs4343 G>A and miR-196a2 rs11614913 C>T gene polymorphisms with severity and mortality of COVID-19 using amplification refractory mutation system PCR in 117 COVID-19 patients and 103 healthy controls from three regions of Saudi Arabia. The results showed that ACE2 rs4343 GA genotype was associated with severity of COVID-19 (OR=2.10, P-value 0.0028) and ACE2 rs4343 GA was associated with increased mortality with OR=3.44, P-value 0.0028. A strong correlation between the ACE2 rs4343 G>A genotype distribution among COVID-19 patients was reported with respect to their comorbid conditions including sex (P<0.023), coronary artery disease (P<0.0001), oxygen saturation <60 mm Hg (P<0.0009) and antiviral therapy (0.003). The results also showed that the CT genotype and T allele of the miR-196a2 rs11614913 C>T were associated with decreased risk to COVID-19 with OR=0.76, P=0.006 and OR=0.54, P=0.005, respectively. These results need to be validated with future molecular genetic studies in a larger sample size and different populations.

The Mechanism and Function of miRNA in Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) disease has been considered as the main cause of low back pain (LBP), which is a very common symptom and the leading cause of disability worldwide today. The pathological mechanism of IDD remains quite complicated, and genetic, developmental, biochemical, and biomechanical factors all contribute to the development of the disease. There exists no effective, non-surgical treatment for IDD nowadays, which is largely related to the lack of knowledge of the specific mechanisms of IDD, and the lack of effective specific targets. Recently, non-coding RNA, including miRNA, has been recognized as an important regulator of gene expression. Current studies on the effects of miRNA in IDD have confirmed that a variety of miRNAs play a crucial role in the process of IDD via nucleus pulposus cells (NPC) apoptosis, abnormal proliferation, inflammatory factors, the extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation, and annulus fibrosus (AF) degeneration. In the past 10 years, research on miRNA has been quite active in IDD. This review summarizes the current research progression of miRNA in the IDD and puts forward some prospects and challenges on non-surgical treatment for IDD.

Role of miRNA polymorphism in recurrent pregnancy loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis

There are a plethora of publications on the role of miRNA gene polymorphism and its association with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), but a lack of uniformity in the studies available due to the variable subject population, heterogeneity and contrary results of significance. Rigorous data mining was done through PubMed, SCOPUS, Cochrane library, Elsevier and Google Scholar to extract the studies of interest published until June 2021. A total of eight SNPs of miRNAs have been included, where ≥2 studies per SNPs were available. Analysis was done on the basis of pooled odds ratios and 95% CI. This is the first meta-analysis on miRNA SNPs in RPL that suggests that rs11614913, rs3746444 and rs2292832 biomarkers may decrease the risk of RPL under different genetic models.

Tanshinone IIA and Astragaloside IV Inhibit miR-223/JAK2/STAT1 Signalling Pathway to Alleviate Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Damage in Nucleus Pulposus Cells

Astragaloside IV (AS IV) and tanshinone (TS IIA) are the main natural components of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Radix Astragali, respectively. The amalgam of TS IIA and AS IV has potential therapeutic value in many inflammation-related diseases. However, the aftereffect of TS IIA and AS IV for lumbar disc herniation is not clear. Although the function of miR-223 in the inflammation-related JAK/STAT pathway is unknown, it is particularly expressed in human degenerative nucleus pulposus cells. This study has investigated the efficacy of the combined application of TS IIA and AS IV in the treatment of intervertebral disc nucleus pulposus cells (NP cells) injured by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). After miR-223 inhibitor imitated NP cells, the state of the JAK family and STAT family was recognized by Western blotting (Western blot, WB) and reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The shRNA lentivirus interference vector targeting the STAT family was constructed, and the NP cell line stably interfering with the STAT gene was established after transfection. The expression of TNF-α, IL-6, MMP-9, MMP-3, caspase-1, and caspase-3 was detected by lipopolysaccharide (WTNP cells), control virus NP cells, STAT downregulation NP cells, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blot, and qPCR, respectively. The cell survival rate was detected by flow cytometry and TUNEL staining reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). NP cells were treated with TS IIA and AS IV which had been made into different concentrations, and then, the expression of miR-223, p-STAT1, and p-JAK families was detected by WB Western blotting and qPCR. MiR-223 selectively acts on JAK2/STAT1 pathway, increases the expression of TNF-α, IL-6, MMP-9, MMP-3, caspase3-1, and caspase-3, and induces apoptosis, which can be eliminated by silencing STAT1. TS IIA combined with AS IV could inhibit the expression of miR-223, p-STAT1, and p-JAK2 in NP cells, and they showed a dose-dependent tendency to p-STAT1 and p-JAK2. This study shows that miR-223 promotes the inflammatory response and induces cell injury of NP cells by acting on the JAK2/STAT1 pathway, and the combination of TS IIA and AS IV may protect NP cells by downregulating miR-223 and inhibiting the expression of JAK2 and STAT1.

A panel of miRNAs as prognostic markers for African-American patients with triple negative breast cancer

BACKGROUND

To investigate the global expression profile of miRNAs, their impact on cellular signaling pathways, and their association with poor prognostic parameters in African-American (AA) patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

METHODS

Twenty-five samples of AA TNBC patients were profiled for global miRNA expression and stratified considering three clinical-pathological parameters: tumor size, lymph node (LN), and recurrence (REC) status. Differential miRNA expression analysis was performed for each parameter, and their discriminatory power was determined by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. KMplotter was assessed to determine the association of the miRNAs with survival, and functional enrichment analysis to determine the main affected pathways and miRNA/mRNA target interactions.

RESULTS

A panel of eight, 23 and 27 miRNAs were associated with tumor size, LN, and REC status, respectively. Combined ROC analysis of two (miR-2117, and miR-378c), seven (let-7f-5p, miR-1255b-5p, miR-1268b, miR-200c-3p, miR-520d, miR-527, and miR-518a-5p), and three (miR-1200, miR-1249-3p, and miR-1271-3p) miRNAs showed a robust discriminatory power based on tumor size (AUC = 0.917), LN (AUC = 0.945) and REC (AUC = 0.981) status, respectively. Enrichment pathway analysis revealed their involvement in proteoglycans and glycan and cancer-associated pathways. Eight miRNAs with deregulated expressions in patients with large tumor size, positive LN metastasis, and recurrence were significantly associated with lower survival rates. Finally, the construction of miRNA/mRNA networks based in experimentally validated mRNA targets, revealed nodes of critical cancer genes, such as AKT1, BCL2, CDKN1A, EZR and PTEN.

CONCLUSIONS

Altogether, our data indicate that miRNA deregulated expression is a relevant biological factor that can be associated with the poor prognosis in TNBC of AA patients, by conferring to their TNBC cells aggressive phenotypes that are reflected in the clinical characteristics evaluated in this study.

Filtering the Junk: Assigning Function to the Mosquito Non-Coding Genome

The portion of the mosquito genome that does not code for proteins contains regulatory elements that likely underlie variation for important phenotypes including resistance and susceptibility to infection with arboviruses and Apicomplexan parasites. Filtering the non-coding genome to uncover these functional elements is an expanding area of research, though identification of non-coding regulatory elements is challenging due to the lack of an amino acid-like code for the non-coding genome and a lack of sequence conservation across species. This review focuses on three types of non-coding regulatory elements: (1) microRNAs (miRNAs), (2) long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and (3) enhancers, and summarizes current advances in technical and analytical approaches for measurement of each of these elements on a genome-wide scale. The review also summarizes and highlights novel findings following application of these techniques in mosquito-borne disease research. Looking beyond the protein-coding genome is essential for understanding the complexities that underlie differential gene expression in response to arboviral or parasite infection in mosquito disease vectors. A comprehensive understanding of the regulation of gene and protein expression will inform transgenic and other vector control methods rooted in naturally segregating genetic variation.

Epigenetic and Posttranscriptional Modulation of SOS1 Can Promote Breast Cancer Metastasis through Obesity-Activated c-Met Signaling in African-American Women

Ethnicity is considered to be one of the major risk factors in certain subtypes of breast cancer. However, the mechanism of this racial disparity remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that SOS1, a key regulator of Ras pathway, is highly expressed in African-American (AA) patients with breast cancer compared with Caucasian-American patients. Because of the higher obesity rate in AA women, increased levels of SOS1 facilitated signal transduction of the c-Met pathway, which was highly activated in AA patients with breast cancer via hepatocyte growth factor secreted from adipocytes. Elevated expression of SOS1 also enhanced cancer stemness through upregulation of PTTG1 and promoted M2 polarization of macrophages by CCL2 in metastatic sites. SOS1 was epigenetically regulated by a super-enhancer identified by H3K27ac in AA patients. Knockout of the super-enhancer by CRISPR in AA cell lines significantly reduced SOS1 expression. Furthermore, SOS1 was posttranscriptionally regulated by miR-483 whose expression is reduced in AA patients through histone trimethylation (H3K27me3) on its promoter. The natural compound, taxifolin, suppressed signaling transduction of SOS1 by blocking the interaction between SOS1 and Grb2, suggesting a potential utility of this compound as a therapeutic agent for AA patients with breast cancer. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings elucidate the signaling network of SOS1-mediated metastasis in African-American patients, from the epigenetic upregulation of SOS1 to the identification of taxifolin as a potential therapeutic strategy against SOS1-driven tumor progression.

miRNA Expression Analysis: Cell Lines HCC1500 and HCC1937 as Models for Breast Cancer in Young Women and the miR-23a as a Poor Prognostic Biomarker

PURPOSE

The study of breast cancer nearly always involves patients close to menopause or older. Therefore, young patients are mostly underrepresented. Our aim in this study was to demonstrate biological differences in breast cancer of young people using as a model available cell lines derived from people with breast cancer younger than 35 years.

METHODS

Global miRNA expression was analyzed in breast cancer cells from young (HCC1500, HCC1937) and old patients (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, HCC1806, and MDA-MB-468). In addition, it was compared with same type of results from patients.

RESULTS

We observed a differential profile for 155 miRNAs between young and older cell lines. We identified a set of 24 miRNA associated with aggressiveness that were regulating pluripotency of stem cell-related pathways. Combining the miRNA expression data from cell lines and breast cancer patients, 132 miRNAs were differently expressed between young and old samples, most of them previously found in cell lines. MiR-23a-downregulation was also associated with poor survival in young patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that HCC1500 and HCC1937 cell lines could be suitable cellular models for breast cancer affecting young women. The miR-23a-downregulation could have a potential role as a poor prognosis biomarker in this age group.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in microRNAs action as biomarkers for breast cancer

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been recently described as small noncoding RNAs that are involved in numerous crucial physiological processes, such as cell cycles, differentiation, development, and metabolism. Thus, dysregulation of these molecules could lead to several severe disorders, including breast cancer (BC). Ongoing investigations in malignant growth diagnostics have distinguished miRNAs as promising disease biomarkers. As with any other mRNAs, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DNA sequence encoding for miRNA (miR-SNPs) indeed lead to potential changes in the function of miRNA. In this study, miR-SNPs located in different miRNA sequence regions, which have been associated with BC in different ways, and the potential mechanisms of how these miR-SNPs develop the risk of the disease were discussed.

Evidences from a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Unveil the Role of MiRNA Polymorphisms in the Predisposition to Female Neoplasms

Breast (BCa) and gynecological (GCa) cancers constitute a group of female neoplasms that has a worldwide significant contribution to cancer morbidity and mortality. Evidence suggests that polymorphisms influencing miRNA function can provide useful information towards predicting the risk of female neoplasms. Inconsistent findings in the literature should be detected and resolved to facilitate the genetic screening of miRNA polymorphisms, even during childhood or adolescence, and their use as predictors of future malignancies. This study represents a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between miRNA polymorphisms and the risk of female neoplasms. Meta-analysis was performed by pooling odds-ratios (ORs) and generalized ORs while using a random-effects model for 15 miRNA polymorphisms. The results suggest that miR-146a rs2910164 is implicated in the susceptibility to GCa. Moreover, miR-196a2 rs11614913-T had a moderate protective effect against female neoplasms, especially GCa, in Asians but not in Caucasians. MiR-27a rs895819-G might pose a protective effect against BCa among Caucasians. MiR-499 rs3746444-C may slightly increase the risk of female neoplasms, especially BCa. MiR-124 rs531564-G may be associated with a lower risk of female neoplasms. The current evidences do not support the association of the remaining polymorphisms and the risk of female neoplasms.

Genetic Ancestry-dependent Differences in Breast Cancer-induced Field Defects in the Tumor-adjacent Normal Breast

PURPOSE

Genetic ancestry influences evolutionary pathways of cancers. However, whether ancestry influences cancer-induced field defects is unknown. The goal of this study was to utilize ancestry-mapped true normal breast tissues as controls to identify cancer-induced field defects in normal tissue adjacent to breast tumors (NATs) in women of African American (AA) and European (EA) ancestry.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

A tissue microarray comprising breast tissues of ancestry-mapped 100 age-matched healthy women from the Komen Tissue Bank (KTB) at Indiana University (Indianapolis, IN) and tumor-NAT pairs from 100 women (300 samples total) was analyzed for the levels of ZEB1, an oncogenic transcription factor that is central to cell fate, mature luminal cell-enriched estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), GATA3, FOXA1, and for immune cell composition.

RESULTS

ZEB1⁺ cells, which were localized surrounding the ductal structures of the normal breast, were enriched in the KTB-normal of AA compared with KTB-normal of EA women. In contrast, in EA women, both NATs and tumors compared with KTB-normal contained higher levels of ZEB1⁺ cells. FOXA1 levels were lower in NATs compared with KTB-normal in AA but not in EA women. We also noted variations in the levels of GATA3, CD8⁺ T cells, PD1⁺ immune cells, and PDL1⁺ cell but not CD68⁺ macrophages in NATs of AA and EA women. ERα levels did not change in any of our analyses, pointing to the specificity of ancestry-dependent variations.

CONCLUSIONS

Genetic ancestry-mapped tissues from healthy individuals are required for proper assessment and development of cancer-induced field defects as early cancer detection markers. This finding is significant in light of recent discoveries of influence of genetic ancestry on both normal biology and tumor evolution.