Identification of postoperative prognostic microRNA predictors in hepatocellular carcinoma

miR-761-hepcidin/Gpx4 pathway contribute to unexplained liver dysfunction in polycystic ovary syndrome by regulating liver iron overload and ferroptosis

Aims: To investigate the underling mechanisms of liver dysfunction in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).Materials and methods: PCOS patients were enrolled according to the Amsterdam criteria while PCOS animal model was established by dihydrotestosterone (DHEA) sustained release tablet implantation on its neck. Further liver damage and iron overload were detected by HE and Prussian blue staining. The liver related enzymes, mRNA and protein levels of hepcidin and GPX4 were tested by ELISA, qRT-PCR and Western blot. RNA interference and miR-761 transfection were routinely performed while the regulation of miR-761 on hepcidin and GPX4 was confirmed by luciferase reporter gene analysis.Results: We found that a part of PCOS patients and animal model had unexplained liver damage, which is independent of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and accompanied by increased ferrum (Fe) deposition. Besides, the expression of hepcidin and GPX4 that is important effector proteins for ferroptosis was down regulated in liver, showing the importance of iron metabolism in this unexplained liver damage. Based on the miR-761-hepcidin/GPX4 axis, we systematically studied the effects of miR-761 on ferroptosis and Fe deposition, which further influence the phenotype and liver function of PCOS model. From both in vivo and in vitro levels, changes in PCOS disease phenotype and ferroptosis were observed through hierarchical antagonism or overexpression of miR-761, hepcidin and GPX4.Conclusions: our results provide a novel explanation for unexplained liver damage in PCOS and a potential therapeutic target.

Mifepristone inhibits hepatoma growth by enhancing the GR-HSP60-survivin interaction to facilitate survivin degradation

Silencing of heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) suppresses the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Mifepristone inhibits HSP60 mRNA expression in Chlamydophila-infected epithelial cells. The aim of this study was to determine whether mifepristone could inhibit the growth of HCC cells by affecting the functions of HSP60. The effect of mifepristone on cell viability was examined by flow cytometry and a cell proliferation assay. Protein-protein interactions were examined using the immunoprecipitation assay. The anti-tumor effect of mifepristone was evaluated using a xenograft model. Our results indicated that mifepristone induces cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase and early-stage apoptosis in HCC cells. Instead of reducing the total amount of HSP60, mifepristone induced the release of mitochondrial HSP60 into the cytosol by causing a loss of ΔΨm, thereby enhancing glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-HSP60-survivin complex formation as well as survivin degradation. Animal models have confirmed the growth inhibitory effects of mifepristone on HCC, including changes in the abundance of HSP60 in mitochondria and cytosol, decreased survivin and Ki-67-positive cells, as well as increased cell apoptosis. In conclusion, the inhibition of HCC growth by mifepristone may be achieved by altering the subcellular distribution of HSP60 to enhance the formation of cytosolic GR-HSP60-survivin complexes in the cells, leading to the degradation of survivin.

The Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of miR-155 in Cancers: An Updated Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

MicroRNA-155 has been discussed as a biomarker in cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Although relevant studies have been published, the role of microRNA-155 remains uncertain because of insufficient data.

METHODS

We conducted a literature search in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases to obtain relevant articles and extract data to evaluate the role of microRNA-155 in cancer diagnosis and prognosis.

RESULTS

The pooled results showed that microRNA-155 presented a remarkable diagnostic value in cancers (area under the curve = 0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI 0.87-0.92; sensitivity = 0.83, 95% CI 0.79-0.87; specificity = 0.83, 95% CI 0.80-0.86), which was maintained in the subgroups stratified by ethnicity (Asian and Caucasian), cancer types (breast cancer, lung cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, leukemia, and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma), sample types (plasma, serum, tissue), and sample size (n >100 and n <100). In prognosis, a combined hazard ratio (HR) showed that microRNA-155 was significantly associated with poor overall survival (HR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.25-1.54) and recurrence-free survival (HR = 2.13, 95% CI 1.65-2.76), and was boundary significant with poor progression-free survival (HR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.00-1.44), but not significant with disease-free survival (HR = 1.14, 95% CI 0.70-1.85). Subgroup analyses in overall survival showed that microRNA-155 was associated with poor overall survival in the subgroups stratified by ethnicity and sample size. However, the significant association was maintained in cancer types subgroups of leukemia, lung cancer, and oral squamous cell carcinoma, but not in colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and breast cancer, and was maintained in sample types subgroups of bone marrow and tissue, but not in plasma and serum.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from this meta-analysis demonstrated that microRNA-155 was a valuable biomarker in cancer diagnosis and prognosis.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma: The Role of MicroRNAs

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. HCC is diagnosed in its advanced stage when limited treatment options are available. Substantial morphologic, genetic and epigenetic heterogeneity has been reported in HCC, which poses a challenge for the development of a targeted therapy. In this review, we discuss the role and involvement of several microRNAs (miRs) in the heterogeneity and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma with a special emphasis on their possible role as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in the risk prediction, early detection, and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

miR-486 Promotes the Invasion and Cell Cycle Progression of Ovarian Cancer Cells by Targeting CADM1

Objective

To explore the role and possible underlying mechanism of miR-486 in ovarian cancer (OC) cells.

Methods

The expression of miR-486 and CADM1 was detected by qRT-PCR in OC tissues and adjacent nontumor tissues and OC cell lines. The dual-luciferase reporter gene system was used to determine the targeting relationship between miR-486 and CADM1. CCK-8, colony formation assay, Transwell, and flow cytometry were performed to detect cell proliferation, cell invasion, cell cycle progression, and the apoptotic cell death, respectively. Western blot was carried out to detect the expression of CADM1 protein and the proteins associated with cell cycle progression.

Results

miR-486 was significantly upregulated in OC tissues and cells, while CADM1 expression was significantly downregulated. Dual-luciferase reporter assays further confirmed that CADM1 was a target gene of miR-486. Interference with miR-486 could inhibit the proliferation and invasion and promoted the apoptosis of SKOV3 cells. Knocking down both miR-486 and CADM1 significantly increased the SKOV3 cell proliferation, invasion, and the number of cells transitioning from the G0/G1 phase into the S phase of cell cycle and reduced the cellular apoptosis. Western blot analysis revealed that the expression of cell cycle progression-related proteins (CyclinD1, CyclinE, and CDK6) was significantly reduced, and the p21 expression was increased when interfering with both miR-486 and CADM1 expression.

Conclusion

Our results suggested that miR-486 could act as a tumor promoter by targeting CADM1 and be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of OC.

Roles and regulatory mechanisms of miR-30b in cancer, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disorders (Review)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNAs 21-23 nucleotides in length that regulate gene expression, and thereby modulate signaling pathways and protein synthesis in both physiological and pathogenic processes. miR-30b inhibits cell proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transformation in multiple types of cancer. In addition to its role in several types of neoplasias, miR-30b has been shown to exhibit essential roles in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. In the present review, an overview of the biological functions of miR-30b and its role in the pathogenesis of neoplastic, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases is provided. miR-30b is a potential candidate for clinical development as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker, therapeutic agent and drug target. However, further research is required to elucidate its role in health and disease and to harness its potential clinical utility.

LncRNA AC010789.1 Promotes Colorectal Cancer Progression by Targeting MicroRNA-432-3p/ZEB1 Axis and the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway

Accumulating literatures have indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are crucial molecules in tumor progression in various human cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the clinical significance and regulatory mechanism of a vast majority of lncRNAs in CRC remain to be determined. The current study aimed to explore the function and molecular mechanism of lncRNA AC010789.1 in CRC progression. AC010789.1 found to be overexpressed in CRC tissues and cells. High expression of AC010789.1 was associated with lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis. Moreover, AC010789.1 silencing inhibited proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in vitro as well as tumorigenesis and metastasis in vivo. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that repression of AC010789.1 promoted miR-432-3p expression, and miR-432-3p directly binds to ZEB1. We then proved the anti-tumor role of miR-432-3p in CRC, showing that the inhibitory effect of AC010789.1 knockdown on CRC cells was achieved by the upregulation of miR-432-3p but downregulation of ZEB1. We also established that silencing AC010789.1 suppressed the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. However, this inhibitory effect was partially counteracted by inhibition of miR-432-3p. In summary, these results reveal that silencing AC010789.1 suppresses CRC progression via miR-432-3p-mediated ZEB1 downregulation and suppression of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, highlighting a potentially promising strategy for CRC treatment.

Role of cellular, molecular and tumor microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma: Possible targets and future directions in the regorafenib era

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains as one of the major causes of cancer-related mortality, despite the recent development of new therapeutic options. Regorafenib, an oral multikinase inhibitor, is the first systemic therapy that has a survival benefit for patients with advanced HCC that have a poor response to sorafenib. Even though regorafenib has been approved by the FDA, the clinical trial for regorafenib treatment does not show significant improvement in overall survival. The impaired efficacy of regorafenib caused by various resistance mechanisms, including epithelial-mesenchymal transitions, inflammation, angiogenesis, hypoxia, oxidative stress, fibrosis and autophagy, still needs to be resolved. In this review, we provide insight on regorafenib microenvironmental, molecular and cellular mechanisms and interactions in HCC treatment. The aim of this review is to help physicians select patients that would obtain the maximal benefits from regorafenib in HCC therapy.

Role of MicroRNA in the Diagnosis and Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

INTRODUCTION

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world and comes third in cancer-induced mortality. The need for improved and more specific diagnostic methods that can detect early-stage disease is immense, as it is amenable to curative modalities, while advanced HCC is associated with low survival rates. microRNA (miRNA) expression is deregulated in HCC and this can be implemented both diagnostically and therapeutically.

OBJECTIVE

To provide a concise review on the role of miRNA in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of HCC.

METHODS

We conducted a comprehensive review of the PubMed bibliographic database.

RESULTS

Multiple miRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of HCC. Measurement of the levels of these miRNAs either in tumor tissue or in the blood constitutes a promising diagnostic, as well as prognostic tool. OncomiRs are miRNAs that promote tumorigenesis, thus inhibiting them by administering antagomiRs is a promising treatment option. Moreover, replacement of the depleted miRNAs is another potential therapeutic approach for HCC. Modification of miRNA levels may also regulate sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents.

CONCLUSION

miRNA play a pivotal role in HCC pathogenesis and once the underlying mechanisms are elucidated, they will become part of everyday clinical practice against HCC.

Differential Expression of Urinary Exosomal MicroRNAs miR-21-5p and miR-30b-5p in Individuals with Diabetic Kidney Disease

Biomarkers for the identification of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) are needed as current tests lack sensitivity for detecting early kidney damage. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding regulatory ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules commonly found in urinary exosomes differentially expressed as renal function declines. We evaluated urinary exosomal miRNA expression in persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus and DKD (T2DKD). 87 human urinary exosomal miRNAs were profiled in a discovery cohort of patients with T2DKD (n = 14) and age and gender matched controls with type 2 diabetes mellitus and normal renal function (T2DNRF; n = 15). Independent validation of differentially expressed target miRNAs was performed in a second cohort with T2DKD (n = 22) and two control groups: T2DNRF (n = 15) and controls with chronic kidney disease (CCKD) and poor renal function without diabetes (n = 18). In the discovery cohort, urinary miR-21-5p, let-7e-5p and miR-23b-3p were significantly upregulated in T2DKD compared to T2DNRF (p < 0.05). Conversely, miR-30b-5p and miR-125b-5p expression was significantly lower in T2DKD (p < 0.05). Independent validation confirmed up-regulation of miR-21-5p in the replication cohort in T2DKD (2.13-fold, p = 0.006) and in CCKD (1.73-fold, p = 0.024). In contrast, miR-30b-5p was downregulated in T2DKD (0.82-fold, p = 0.006) and in CCKD (0.66-fold, p < 0.002). This study identified differential expression of miR-21-5p and miR-30b-5p in individuals with diabetic kidney disease and poor renal function. These miRNAs represent potential biomarkers associated with the pathogenesis of renal dysfunction.

miR-30b-5p acts as a tumor suppressor microRNA in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Background

To study miR-30b-5p expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) by comparisons between tumor tissues and matched adjacent non-cancerous tissues to elucidate the correlation between miR-30b-5p expression and ESCC clinical parameters, and to explore the signaling pathways associated with miR-30b-5p and key target genes.

Methods

Clinical data, cancer tissues, and adjacent non-cancerous tissues of 32 patients diagnosed with ESCC were collected from Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province. The expression levels of miR-30b-5p were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). mRNA data for ESCC tissues and normal tissues, and clinical materials of patients with ESCC were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Associations between miR-30b-5p expression and clinical features of patients with ESCC and overall survival were explored. A bioinformatics analysis was performed to determine the pathways and key miR-30b-5p targets associated with ESCC. Additionally, a cytological experiment was performed to evaluate the biological functions of miR-30b-5p. Finally, correlations between miR-30b-5p and key targets involved in PI3K/Akt signaling pathways were validated by western blotting.

Results

The expression level of miR-30b-5p in the 32 ESCC tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent normal tissues (P<0.01) and was significantly disparate in the T stage, with higher expression in T1 than in T2 (P<0.05). Among the patients with higher expression levels of miR-30b-5p in ESCC tissues than in adjacent normal tissues, patients with higher expression of miR-30b-5p had a better prognosis (P<0.05). An analysis of gene chip data from the GEO database showed similar results. A gene enrichment analysis indicated a series of pathways that may be associated with the downregulation of miR-30b-5p, including focal adhesion, ECM-receptor interaction, and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways. Seven key target genes (PDGFRB, VIM, ITGA5, ACTN1, THBS2, SERPINE1, and RUNX2) were identified; these were found to be upregulated in ESCC tissues and were negatively correlated with miR-30b-5p. Functional experiments showed that miR-30b-5p attenuated migration (P<0.01) and invasion (P<0.05) in the Eca109 cell line. Moreover, the levels of ITGA5, PDGFRB, p-PI3K, and p-AKT, which are involved in the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, were decreased in the miR-30b-5p-overexpressing Eca109 cell line.

Conclusions

Upregulated miR-30b-5p may inhibit migration and invasion in ESCC by targeting ITGA5, PDGFRB, and signaling pathways, such as PI3K/Akt, involved in ESCC regulation. Our results indicate that miR-30b-5p plays an important role in the occurrence and progression of ESCC and is a potential therapeutic target.

MicroRNA-486-3p functions as a tumor suppressor in oral cancer by targeting DDR1

BACKGROUND

Discoidin domain receptor-1 (DDR1) tyrosine kinase is highly expressed in a variety of human cancers and involved in various steps of tumorigenesis. However, the precise mechanisms underlying the abnormal expression of DDR1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has not been well investigated.

METHODS

The expression of DDR1 on OSCC patients was determine by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. Specific targeting by miRNAs was determined by software prediction, luciferase reporter assay, and correlation with target protein expression. The functions of miR-486-3p and DDR1 were accessed by MTT and Annexin V analyses using gain- and loss-of-function approaches. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and methylation specific PCR (MSP) were performed to explore the molecular mechanisms by arecoline treatment.

RESULTS

Here, we reported that DDR1 was significantly upregulated in OSCC tissues and its levels were inversely correlated with miR-486-3p expression. The experimental results in vitro confirmed that miR-486-3p decreased DDR1 expression by targeting the 3'-UTR of DDR1 mRNA. Overexpression of miR-486-3p led to growth inhibition and apoptosis induction with a similar function by knockdown of DDR1. Aberrant methylation of ANK1 promoter was a highly prevalent in OSCC and contributes to oral carcinogenesis by epigenetic silencing of ANK1 and miR-486-3p. We found that miR-486-3p can be transcriptionally co-regulated with its host gene ANK1 through epigenetic repression. DNA methylation inhibitor treatment re-expressed ANK1 and miR-486-3p. Importantly, arecoline, a major betel nut alkaloid, recruited DNMT3B binding to ANK1 promoter for DNA methylation and then attenuated the expression of miR-486-3p in OSCC.

CONCLUSION

This study was the first to demonstrate that betel nut alkaloid may recruit DNMT3B to regulate miR-486-3p/DDR1 axis in oral cancer andmiR-486-3p and DDR1 may serve as potential therapeutic targets of oral cancer.

Prognostic Value of MicroRNA-15a in Human Cancers: A Meta-Analysis and Bioinformatics

Background

Although several studies have proved the relationship between the prognostic value of miRNA-15a and different types of cancer, the result remains controversial. Thus, a meta-analysis was conducted to clarify the prognostic value of miRNA-15a expression level in human cancers.

Methods

We enrolled appropriate literature by searching the databases of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. Subsequently, we extracted HRs and their 95% CIs and calculated pooled results of miRNA-15a for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Besides, subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, and publication bias were also revealed in this study. We also further validated this meta-analysis using the Kaplan-Meier plotter database.

Result

10 studies, including 1616 patients, were embraced in our meta-analysis. The result showed the lower expression of miRNA-15a significantly predicted adverse OS (HR=2.17, 95% CI: 1.41-3.34), but there is no significant association between the expressing level and DFS in cancer patient (HR=2.04, 95% CI: 0.60-6.88). Based on Kaplan-Meier plotter database, we found the same results in bladder Carcinoma, head-neck squamous cell carcinoma, liver hepatocellular carcinoma, lung squamous cell carcinoma, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, rectum adenocarcinoma, stomach adenocarcinoma, and uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma, but opposite results were found in cervical squamous cell carcinoma and esophageal carcinoma.

Conclusion

Low expressing levels of miRNA-15a indicated poor OS, while miRNA-15a can be used as a prediction biomarker in different cancer types.

The methionine salvage pathway-involving ADI1 inhibits hepatoma growth by epigenetically altering genes expression via elevating S-adenosylmethionine

The 5′-methylthioadenosine (MTA) cycle-participating human acireductone dioxygenase 1 (ADI1) has been implicated as a tumor suppressor in prostate cancer, yet its role remains unclear in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we demonstrated a significant reduction of ADI1, either in protein or mRNA level, in HCC tissues. Additionally, higher ADI1 levels were associated with favorable postoperative recurrence-free survival in HCC patients. By altering ADI1 expression in HCC cells, a negative correlation between ADI1 and cell proliferation was observed. Cell-based and xenograft experiments were performed by using cells overexpressing ADI1 mutants carrying mutations at the metal-binding sites (E94A and H133A, respectively), which selectively disrupted differential catalytic steps, resulting in staying or leaving the MTA cycle. The results showed that the growth suppression effect was mediated by accelerating the MTA cycle. A cDNA microarray analysis followed by verification experiments identified that caveolin-1 (CAV1), a growth-promoting protein in HCC, was markedly decreased upon ADI1 overexpression. Suppression of CAV1 expression was mediated by an increase of S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) level. The methylation status of CAV1 promoter was significantly altered upon ADI1 overexpression. Finally, a genome-wide methylation analysis revealed that ADI1 overexpression altered promoter methylation profiles in a set of cancer-related genes, including CAV1 and genes encoding antisense non-coding RNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and microRNAs, resulting in significant changes of their expression levels. In conclusion, ADI1 expression promoted MTA cycle to increase SAMe levels, which altered genome-wide promoter methylation profiles, resulting in altered gene expression and HCC growth suppression.

Oncogenic value of microRNA-15b-5p in hepatocellular carcinoma and a bioinformatics investigation

miR-15b-5p has frequently been reported to function as a biomarker in some malignancies; however, the function of miR-15b-5p in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its molecular mechanism are still not well understood. The present study was designed to confirm the clinical value of miR-15b-5p and further explore its underlying molecular mechanism. A comprehensive investigation of the clinical value of miR-15b-5p in HCC was investigated by data mining The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets as well as literature. In addition, intersected target genes of miR-15b-5p were predicted using the miRWalk database and differentially expressed genes of HCC from TCGA. Furthermore, gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were carried out. Then, a protein-protein interaction network (PPI) was constructed to reveal the interactions between some hub target genes of miR-15b-5p. The miR-15b-5p expression level in HCC was predominantly overexpressed compared with non-HCC tissues samples (SMD=0.618, 95% CI: 0.207, 1.029; P<0.0001) based on 991 HCC and 456 adjacent non-HCC tissue samples. The pooled summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) of miR-15b-5p was 0.81 (Q*=0.74), and the pooled sensitivity and specificity of miR-15b-5p in HCC were 72% (95% CI: 69–75%) and 68% (95% CI: 65–72%), respectively. Bioinformatically, 225 overlapping genes were selected as prospective target genes of miR-15b-5p in HCC, and profoundly enriched GO terms and KEGG pathway investigation in silico demonstrated that the target genes were associated with prostate cancer, proximal tubule bicarbonate reclamation, heart trabecula formation, extracellular space, and interleukin-1 receptor activity. Five genes (ACACB, RIPK4, MAP2K1, TLR4 and IGF1) were defined as hub genes from the PPI network. The high expression of miR-15b-5p could play an essential part in hepatocarcinogenesis through diverse regulation approaches.

High miR-139-3p expression predicts a better prognosis for hepatocellular carcinoma: a pooled analysis

Objective

To observe the expression and clinical significance of micro RNA (miR)-139-3p in liver cancer tissues, and to explore its relationship with miR-139-3p target genes related to the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

A total of 362 patients with HCC were included in the study. Liver hepatocellular carcinoma data were obtained directly from The Cancer Genome Atlas data portal .The bioinformatics analysis tool TargetScan was applied to predict miR-139-3p target genes.

Results

Survival time was significantly higher in patients with high miR-139-3p expression, compared with the low miR-139-3p expression group. Bioinformatics analysis showed that miR-139-3p target genes ISG20L2, RAD54B, KIAA0101, and PIGS were significantly negatively correlated with miR-139-3p expression.

Conclusions

High miR-139-3p expression in HCC tissues was indicative of good patient prognosis. miR-139-3p target genes ISG20L2, RAD54B, KIAA0101, and PIGS were related to HCC prognosis.

MiR-545-3p/MT1M axis regulates cell proliferation, invasion and migration in hepatocellular carcinoma

Studies have shown that metallothionein 1 M (MT1M) is a tumor suppressor gene which is frequently down-regulated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The methylation of MT1M promoter region is one of the important transcriptional regulation mechanisms that contribute to the loss of its expression. In our study, we found that there are still half of the 55 HCC tumor tissues in our cohort do not share the promoter methylation of MT1M. So, we speculated there maybe another mechanism participating in the downregulation of MT1M in HCC. Then, we provided evidences that miR-545-3p, which served as a tumor promoter, post-transcriptionally regulate MT1M in HCC through binding to its untranslated region (3'UTR). Taking together, we investigated the role of miR-545-3p in the process of HCC through regulating MT1M.

Tumour suppressor properties of miR-15a and its regulatory effects on BCL2 and SOX2 proteins in colorectal carcinomas

OBJECTIVES

In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression pattern, clinicopathological significance and tumour suppressive properties of miR-15a in patients with colorectal carcinomas.

METHODS

Tissue samples from 87 patients with primary colorectal carcinomas, 50 matched metastatic lymph node and 37 non-neoplastic colon (control) were prospectively recruited. The expression level of miR-15a was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Restoration/overexpression of the miR-15a was achieved by exogenous transfection. Four colon cancer cell lines (SW480, CaCO2, SW48 and HCT116) and a non-cancer colon cell line (FHC) were also used for examining the miR-15a induced tumour suppression properties using various in-vitro and immunological assays.

RESULTS

Downregulation of miR-15a was noted in ~ 62% of the colorectal carcinoma tissues and it was positively correlated with the presence of cancer recurrence in patients with colorectal carcinomas (p = 0.05). Also, these patients with low miR-15a expression showed relatively shorter survival time when compared to those with miR-15a overexpression. Following miR-15a exogenous overexpression, colon cancer cells showed reduced cell proliferation, low colony formation, less cell invasion properties and mitochondrial respiration when compared to control cells. In addition, BCL2 and SOX2 proteins showed a significant downregulation following miR-15a overexpression suggesting its regulatory role in cancer growth, apoptosis and stemness.

CONCLUSION

This study has confirmed the tumour suppressor properties of miR-15a in colorectal cancers. Therefore, its modulation has potential implications in controlling various biological and pathogenic processes in colon carcinogenesis via targeting its downstream proteins such as BCL2 and SOX2.

A novel thyroid function index associated with opposite therapeutic outcomes in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients receiving chemotherapy or sorafenib

AIM

A sustained proportion of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients worldwide received either chemotherapy or sorafenib. However, to date, effective and convenient biomarkers to predict their therapeutic outcomes remained elusive. Hypothyroidism was associated with favorable anticancer treatment outcomes in several advanced cancers. Here, we aimed to investigate the potential of using thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free T4 (FT4) levels as biomarkers to predict clinical outcomes in HCC patients receiving chemotherapy or sorafenib.

METHODS

Total 123 advanced HCC patients at Barcelona Clinical Liver Cancer Stage C were included. They were separated into two cohorts, one treated by sorafenib (n = 62) and the other by chemotherapy (n = 61). Clinical data including TSH and FT4 were retrieved and correlated with treatment outcomes.

RESULTS

Because of restriction in local insurance policy, the baseline liver function reserve was better in patients receiving sorafenib. Therefore, the two cohorts were analyzed separately. The results showed that a higher (> median) TSH × FT4 value was independently associated with favorable time-to-tumor progression (P = 0.006) and overall survival (P = 0.002) if chemotherapy was provided; whereas it was associated with unfavorable time-to-tumor progression (P = 0.017) and overall survival (P = 0.001) if sorafenib was administrated. These opposite associations remained valid when patients with Child-Pugh class A liver function from either cohort were included for analysis.

CONCLUSION

A novel thyroid function index, TSH × FT4, significantly predicted opposite clinical outcomes in advanced HCC patients receiving sorafenib or chemotherapy treatment.

Targeting HSP60 by subcutaneous injections of jetPEI/HSP60-shRNA destabilizes cytoplasmic survivin and inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma growth

Heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) overexpresses in various types of cancer, but its expression levels and functions in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are still in dispute. We aim to clarify this issue and examine whether HSP60 could be a therapeutic target for HCC. We found drastically enhanced cell apoptosis and suppressed cell proliferation in two HCC cell lines with HSP60-silencing, and also indicated survivin was involved in this regulatory process in vitro and in vivo. However, HSP60-silencing in normal human hepatocytes only resulted in a minimal reduction of cell proliferation but without effects on cell apoptosis. We also showed HSP60 interacted with cytosolic but not mitochondrial survivin by immunoprecipitation assay. A rigorous method was used to standardize quantification from immunoblot assay to obtain more precise expression levels of HSP60 and survivin. The expression of HSP60 and survivin positively correlated in both cancerous and non-cancerous liver tissues (P < 0.001) after analyzing 145 surgically removed HCC tissues. A total of 56.6% of HCC patients overexpressed HSP60 in cancerous tissues, and 40.0% under-expressed HSP60. Higher expression of HSP60 and survivin in non-cancerous tissues both correlated with shorter overall survival (P = 0.029 and P < 0.001, respectively). Finally, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of HSP60 using extraneous delivery of jetPEI/shHSP60 complexes. The treatment results showed significant reduction of tumor weight by 44.3% (P < 0.05), accompanied by under-expression of survivin. These studies suggested that HSP60 not only served as a prognostic marker but also served as a novel therapeutic target for HCC.

Pien Tze Huang inhibits the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by upregulating miR-16 expression

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by uncontrolled proliferation and the deregulation of apoptotic signaling, although its molecular pathogenesis is not fully characterized. The ability to inhibit excessive proliferation and induce the apoptosis of cancer cells are crucial characteristics of anticancer drugs. Pien Tze Huang (PZH) is a widely used traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of various types of cancer, and has exhibited promising therapeutic effects in clinical trials of HCC. However, the underlying mechanisms for its action are unclear. In the present study, the aim was to explore the effect of PZH on the proliferation and apoptosis of the BEL-7402 HCC cell line, and the associated mechanisms. PZH treatment significantly inhibited BEL-7402 cell viability, confluence and clonogenicity, inducing cell cycle arrest and promoting apoptosis. In addition, PZH treatment suppressed the expression of the pro-proliferative genes cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 4, and decreased the expression of the anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2. PZH treatment also upregulated the expression of a key microRNA (miR), miR-16. The study demonstrated that PZH can effectively inhibit cancer cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in BEL-7402 HCC cells via the upregulation of the tumor suppressor miR-16.

Prognostic value of microRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis

Background

Numerous articles reported that dysregulated expression levels of miRNAs correlated with survival time of HCC patients. However, there has not been a comprehensive meta-analysis to evaluate the accurate prognostic value of miRNAs in HCC.

Design

Meta-analysis.

Materials and Methods

Studies, published in English, estimating expression levels of miRNAs with any survival curves in HCC were identified up until 15 April, 2017 by performing online searches in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews by two independent authors. The pooled hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to estimate the correlation between miRNA expression and overall survival (OS).

Results

54 relevant articles about 16 miRNAs, with 6464 patients, were ultimately included. HCC patients with high expression of tissue miR-9 (HR = 2.35, 95% CI = 1.46–3.76), miR-21 (HR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.29–2.41), miR-34c (HR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.05–2.57), miR-155 (HR = 2.84, 95% CI = 1.46–5.51), miR-221 (HR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.02–3.04) or low expression of tissue miR-22 (HR = 2.29, 95% CI = 1.63–3.21), miR-29c (HR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.10–1.65), miR-34a (HR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.30–2.59), miR-199a (HR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.89–4.08), miR-200a (HR = 2.64, 95% CI = 1.86–3.77), miR-203 (HR = 2.20, 95% CI = 1.61–3.00) have significantly poor OS (P < 0.05). Likewise, HCC patients with high expression of blood miR-21 (HR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.07–2.80), miR-192 (HR = 2.42, 95% CI = 1.15–5.10), miR-224 (HR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.14–2.12) or low expression of blood miR-148a (HR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.11–4.59) have significantly short OS (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

In conclusion, tissue miR-9, miR-21, miR-22, miR-29c, miR-34a, miR-34c, miR-155, miR-199a, miR-200a, miR-203, miR-221 and blood miR-21, miR-148a, miR-192, miR-224 demonstrate significantly prognostic value. Among them, tissue miR-9, miR-22, miR-155, miR-199a, miR-200a, miR-203 and blood miR-148a, miR-192 are potential prognostic candidates for predicting OS in HCC.

IGFBP2 plays an important role in heat shock protein 27-mediated cancer progression and metastasis

Heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) is a key chaperone that interacts with over 200 client proteins. The expression of Hsp27 might be correlated with poor outcome in many types of cancer. Previous study indicated that Hsp27 might be an important biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the detailed mechanism is less well understood. The shRNA-mediated silencing of Hsp27 decreased the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells. In a xenograft model, the silencing of Hsp27 reduced tumor progression. We revealed that the silencing of Hsp27 led to a reduction in insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP2), which might mediate proliferation and metastasis through vimentin, snail and beta-catenin. The overexpression of IGFBP2 reversed the reductions in cell growth, migration and invasion. The tissue array results showed that HCC patients with high Hsp27 expression exhibited poor prognosis and increased metastasis. The Hsp27 expression was highly correlated with IGFPB2 in CRC specimen. ChIP and luciferase assays showed that Hsp27 does not directly bind the IGFBP2 promoter region to regulate the transcription of IGFBP2. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that Hsp27 is a key mediator of HCC progression and metastasis and that Hsp27 might regulate proliferation and metastasis through IGFBP2. This pathway might provide a new direction for the development of a novel therapeutic strategy for HCC.

Non-coding RNAs Enabling Prognostic Stratification and Prediction of Therapeutic Response in Colorectal Cancer Patients

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous disease and current treatment options for patients are associated with a wide range of outcomes and tumor responses. Although the traditional TNM staging system continues to serve as a crucial tool for estimating CRC prognosis and for stratification of treatment choices and long-term survival, it remains limited as it relies on macroscopic features and cases of surgical resection, fails to incorporate new molecular data and information, and cannot perfectly predict the variety of outcomes and responses to treatment associated with tumors of the same stage. Although additional histopathologic features have recently been applied in order to better classify individual tumors, the future might incorporate the use of novel molecular and genetic markers in order to maximize therapeutic outcome and to provide accurate prognosis. Such novel biomarkers, in addition to individual patient tumor phenotyping and other validated genetic markers, could facilitate the prediction of risk of progression in CRC patients and help assess overall survival. Recent findings point to the emerging role of non-protein-coding regions of the genome in their contribution to the progression of cancer and tumor formation. Two major subclasses of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs, are often dysregulated in CRC and have demonstrated their diagnostic and prognostic potential as biomarkers. These ncRNAs are promising molecular classifiers and could assist in the stratification of patients into appropriate risk groups to guide therapeutic decisions and their expression patterns could help determine prognosis and predict therapeutic options in CRC.

A Circulating MicroRNA Signature Capable of Assessing the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Cirrhotic Patients

With the availability of potent antiviral therapies, complete suppression of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication and total eradication of hepatitis C virus (HCV) can now be achieved. Despite these advances, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) still develops in a substantial proportion of cirrhotic patients, suggesting that host factors remain critical. Dysregulation of miRNAs is noted in many cancers, and circulating miRNAs can be readily assayed. In this study, we aimed to develop a circulating miRNA signature to assess the risk of HCC in cirrhotic patients. We first discovered that HBV- and HCV-related cirrhotic patients had distinguishable circulating miRNA profiles. A cohort of 330 cirrhotic patients was then compared against a cohort of 42 early HCC patients with complete remission. A score comprising 5 miRNAs and a binary etiology variable was established that was capable of differentiating between these two groups (AUC = 72.5%, P < 0.001). The 330 cirrhotic patients were further stratified into high- and low-risk groups, and all patients were longitudinally followed for 752 (11-891) days. Of them, 19 patients developed HCC. The high-risk group had significantly higher cumulative HCC incidence (P = 0.038). In summary, a circulating miRNA-based score was developed that is capable of assessing HCC risks in cirrhotic patients.

miR-30b inhibits cancer cell growth, migration, and invasion by targeting homeobox A1 in esophageal cancer

Emerging evidence has shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in tumor development and progression. In particular, miR-30b is thought to be closely related to the migration, invasion, proliferation, communication, and drug resistance of tumor cells. However, the potential value of miR-30b in human esophageal cancer (EC) remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the biological functions of miR-30b and its potential role in EC. The results indicated that the expression levels of miR-30b were decreased in EC tissues and were correlated with invasion classification (P < 0.01), lymph node metastasis (P < 0.01), and pathological stage (P < 0.05). Log-rank tests demonstrated that low expression of miR-30bwas strongly correlated with poor overall survival in patients with EC (P < 0.05). Moreover, overexpression of miR-30b markedly inhibited the growth, migration, and invasion of ECA109 and TE-1 cells by directly downregulating homeobox A1 (HOXA1). When HOXA1 was reintroduced into miR-30b-transfected ECA109 or TE-1 cells, the inhibitory effects of miR-30b on EC cell growth, migration, and invasion were markedly reversed. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that miR-30b could inhibit tumor cell growth, migration, and invasion by directly targeting HOXA1 in EC cells.

Decreased lipid metabolism but increased FA biosynthesis are coupled with changes in liver microRNAs in obese subjects with NAFLD

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

Many controversies regarding the association of liver miRNAs with obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD) call for additional validations. This study sought to investigate variations in genes and hepatic miRNAs in a sample of obese patients with or without NAFLD and human hepatocytes (HH).

SUBJECTS/METHODS

A total of 60 non-consecutive obese women following bariatric surgery were recruited. Subjects were classified as NAFLD (n=17), borderline (n=24) and controls (n=19) with normal enzymatic profile, liver histology and ultrasound assessments. Profiling of 744 miRNAs was performed in 8 obese women with no sign of hepatic disease and 11 NAFLD patients. Additional validation and expression of genes related to de novo fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis, uptake, transport and β-oxidation; glucose metabolism, and inflammation was tested in the extended sample. Induction of NAFLD-related genes and miRNAs was examined in HepG2 cells and primary HH treated with palmitic acid (PA), a combination of palmitate and oleic acid, or high glucose, and insulin (HG) mimicking insulin resistance in NAFLD.

RESULTS

In the discovery sample, 14 miRNAs were associated with NAFLD. Analyses in the extended sample confirmed decreased miR-139-5p, miR-30b-5p, miR-122-5p and miR-422a, and increased miR-146b-5p in obese subjects with NAFLD. Multiple linear regression analyses disclosed that NAFLD contributed independently to explain miR-139-5p (P=0.005), miR-30b-5p (P=0.005), miR-122-5p (P=0.021), miR-422a (P=0.007) and miR-146a (P=0.033) expression variance after controlling for confounders. Decreased miR-122-5p in liver was associated with impaired FA usage. Expression of inflammatory and macrophage-related genes was opposite to decreased miR-30b-5p, miR-139-5p and miR-422a, whereas increased miR-146b-5p was associated with FABP4 and decreased glucose metabolism and FA mobilization. In partial agreement, PA (but not HG) led to decreased miR-139-5p, miR-30b-5p, miR-422a and miR-146a in vitro, in parallel with increased lipogenesis and FA transport, decreased glucose metabolism and diminished FA oxidation.

CONCLUSION

This study confirms decreased liver glucose and lipid metabolism but increased FA biosynthesis coupled with changes in five unique miRNAs in obese patients with NAFLD.

Hepatocarcinogenesis in transgenic mice carrying hepatitis B virus pre-S/S gene with the sW172* mutation. Oncogenesis. 2016;5:e273. [PMID: 27918551 DOI: 10.1038/oncsis.2016.77.]

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrying the rtA181T/sW172* mutation conferred cross-resistance to adefovir and lamivudine. Cell-based and clinical studies indicated that HBV carrying this mutation had an increased oncogenic potential. Herein, we created transgenic mouse models to study the oncogenicity of the HBV pre-S/S gene containing this mutation. Transgenic mice were generated by transfer of the HBV pre-S/S gene together with its own promoter into C57B6 mice. Four lines of mice were created. Two of them carried wild-type gene and produced high and low levels of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) (TgWT-H and L). The other two carried the sW172* mutation with high and low intrahepatic expression levels (TgSW172*-H and L). When sacrificed 18 months after birth, none of the TgWT mice developed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), whereas 6/26 (23.1%) TgSW172*-H and 2/24 (8.3%) TgSW172*-L mice developed HCC (TgWT vs TgSW172*; P=0.0021). Molecular analysis of liver tissues revealed significantly increased expression of glucose-regulated protein 78 and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 in TgSW172* mice, and decreased expression of B-cell lymphoma-extra large in TgSW172*-H mice. Higher proportion of apoptotic cells was found in TgSW172*-H mice, accompanied by increased cyclin E levels, suggesting increased hepatocyte turnover. Combined analysis of complimentary DNA microarray and microRNA array identified microRNA-873-mediated reduced expression of the CUB and Sushi multiple domains 3 (CSMD3) protein, a putative tumor suppressor, in TgSW172* mice. Our transgenic mice experiments confirmed that HBV pre-S/S gene carrying the sW172* mutation had an increased oncogenic potential. Increased endoplasmic reticulum stress response, more rapid hepatocyte turnover and decreased CSMD3 expression contributed to the hepatocarcinogenesis.

Hepatocarcinogenesis in transgenic mice carrying hepatitis B virus pre-S/S gene with the sW172* mutation

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrying the rtA181T/sW172* mutation conferred cross-resistance to adefovir and lamivudine. Cell-based and clinical studies indicated that HBV carrying this mutation had an increased oncogenic potential. Herein, we created transgenic mouse models to study the oncogenicity of the HBV pre-S/S gene containing this mutation. Transgenic mice were generated by transfer of the HBV pre-S/S gene together with its own promoter into C57B6 mice. Four lines of mice were created. Two of them carried wild-type gene and produced high and low levels of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) (TgWT-H and L). The other two carried the sW172* mutation with high and low intrahepatic expression levels (TgSW172*-H and L). When sacrificed 18 months after birth, none of the TgWT mice developed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), whereas 6/26 (23.1%) TgSW172*-H and 2/24 (8.3%) TgSW172*-L mice developed HCC (TgWT vs TgSW172* P=0.0021). Molecular analysis of liver tissues revealed significantly increased expression of glucose-regulated protein 78 and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 in TgSW172* mice, and decreased expression of B-cell lymphoma-extra large in TgSW172*-H mice. Higher proportion of apoptotic cells was found in TgSW172*-H mice, accompanied by increased cyclin E levels, suggesting increased hepatocyte turnover. Combined analysis of complimentary DNA microarray and microRNA array identified microRNA-873-mediated reduced expression of the CUB and Sushi multiple domains 3 (CSMD3) protein, a putative tumor suppressor, in TgSW172* mice. Our transgenic mice experiments confirmed that HBV pre-S/S gene carrying the sW172* mutation had an increased oncogenic potential. Increased endoplasmic reticulum stress response, more rapid hepatocyte turnover and decreased CSMD3 expression contributed to the hepatocarcinogenesis.

Biomarker MicroRNAs for Diagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Functional Survey and Comparison. Sci Rep. 2016;6:38311. [PMID: 27917899 PMCID: PMC5137156 DOI: 10.1038/srep38311]

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors with high incidence and mortality rate. Precision and effective biomarkers are therefore urgently needed for the early diagnosis and prognostic estimation. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators which play functions in various cellular processes and biological activities. Accumulating evidence indicated that the abnormal expression of miRNAs are closely associated with HCC initiation and progression. Recently, many biomarker miRNAs for HCC have been identified from blood or tissues samples, however, the universality and specificity on clinicopathological features of them are less investigated. In this review, we comprehensively surveyed and compared the diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic roles of HCC biomarker miRNAs in blood and tissues based on the cancer hallmarks, etiological factors as well as ethnic groups, which will be helpful to the understanding of the pathogenesis of biomarker miRNAs in HCC development and further provide accurate clinical decisions for HCC diagnosis and treatment.

Role of microRNA-155 in the liver

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous non-coding small RNAs of 22 nucleotides in length that are found in most eukaryotes. Although miRNAs are highly evolutionally conserved, they show temporal and tissue specificity. They transcriptionally and posttranscriptionally regulate gene expression by completely or imperfectly base pairing with the 3' untranslated region (3'-UTR) of target mRNAs and modulate cell proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation. MicroRNA-155 (miR-155) is a typical representative miRNA, and abnormal expression or dysfunction of miR-155 function not only affects the development of inflammation and autoimmune diseases, but also plays an important role in tumor proliferation and apoptosis. In recent years, it has been found that miR-155 plays an important role in the differentiation, morphology and function of the liver, and is associated with the development, diagnosis and treatment of liver diseases.

An Artificially Designed Interfering lncRNA Expressed by Oncolytic Adenovirus Competitively Consumes OncomiRs to Exert Antitumor Efficacy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Endogenous miRNAs, especially oncogenic miRNAs (OncomiR), have been molecular targets for cancer therapy. We generated an artificially designed interfering long noncoding RNA (lncRNAi), which contains the sequences that can complementarily bind to multiple OncomiRs and is expressed by cancer-selectively replicating adenovirus. The adenovirus-expressed lncRNAi with high levels in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells competes with OncomiR target genes to bind to and consume OncomiRs, thereby achieving the targeted anti-HCC efficacy. With the targeting replication of adenovirus in HCC cells, lncRNAi was highly expressed and resulted in decreased abilities of proliferation, migration, and invasion, induced cell-cycle changes and apoptosis, and markedly changed the cellular mRNA and miRNA expression profiles in HCC cells. The optimal antitumor effect was also demonstrated on HCC cell line xenograft models and HCC patient-derived xenograft (PDX) tumor models in nude mice. This strategy has established a technology platform with a reliable therapeutic effect for HCC therapy. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(7); 1436-51. ©2016 AACR.

MicroRNAs as possible biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of hepatitis B- and C-related-hepatocellular-carcinoma

Aim of the present review is to summarize the current knowledge about the potential relationship between miRNAs and hepatitis B virus (HBV)-hepatitis C virus (HCV) related liver diseases. A systematic computer-based search of published articles, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis Statement, was performed to identify relevant studies on usefulness of serum/plasma/urine miRNAs, as noninvasive biomarkers for early detection of HBV and HCV-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development, as well as for its prognostic evaluation. The used Medical Subject Headings terms and keywords were: “HBV”, “HCV”, “hepatocellular carcinoma”, “microRNAs”, “miRNAs”, “diagnosis”, “prognosis”, “therapy”, “treatment”. Some serum/plasma miRNAs, including miR-21, miR-122, mi-125a/b, miR-199a/b, miR-221, miR-222, miR-223, miR-224 might serve as biomarkers for early diagnosis/prognosis of HCC, but, to date, not definitive results or well-defined panels of miRNAs have been obtained. More well-designed studies, focusing on populations of different geographical areas and involving larger series of patients, should be carried out to improve our knowledge on the potential role of miRNAs for HCC early detection and prognosis.

A microRNA biomarker of hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence following liver transplantation accounting for within-patient heterogeneity

Background

Liver cancer, of which hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is by far the most common type, is the second most deadly cancer (746,000 deaths in 2012). Currently, the only curative treatment for HCC is surgery to remove the malignancy (resection) or to remove the entire diseased liver followed by transplantation of healthy liver tissue. Given the shortage of healthy livers, it is crucial to provide transplants to patients that have the best chance of long-term survival. Currently, transplantation is determined via the Milan criteria—patients within Milan (single tumor < 5 cm or 2–3 tumors < 3 cm with no extrahepatic spread nor intrahepatic vascular invasion) are typically eligible for transplantation. However, combining microRNA expression profiling with the Milan criteria can improve prediction of recurrence.

HCC often presents with multiple distinct tumor foci arising from local spread of a primary tumor or from the oncogenic predisposition of the diseased liver. Substantial genomic heterogeneity between tumor foci within a single patient has been reported; therefore, biomarker development must account for the possibility of highly heterogeneous genomic profiles from the same individual.

Methods

MicroRNA profiling was performed on 180 HCC tumor samples from 89 patients who underwent liver transplantation at the University of Rochester Medical Center. The primary outcome was recurrence-free survival time, and patients were observed for 3 years post-transplantation.

Results

MicroRNA expression profiles were used to develop a biomarker that distinguishes HCC patients at greater risk of recurrence post-transplantation. Unsupervised clustering uncovered two distinct subgroups with vast differences in standard transplantation selection criteria and recurrence-free survival times. These subgroups were subsequently used to identify microRNAs strongly associated with HCC recurrence. Our results show that reduced expression of five specific microRNAs is significantly associated with HCC recurrence post-transplantation.

Conclusions

MicroRNA profiling of distinct tumor foci, coupled with methods that address within-subject tumor heterogeneity, has the potential to significantly improve prediction of HCC recurrence post-transplantation. The development of a clinically applicable HCC biomarker would inform treatment options for patients and contribute to liver transplant selection criteria for practitioners.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12920-016-0179-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

HBV polymerase overexpression due to large core gene deletion enhances hepatoma cell growth by binding inhibition of microRNA-100

Different types of hepatitis B virus (HBV) core gene deletion mutants were identified in chronic hepatitis B patients. However, their clinical roles in different stages of natural chronic HBV infection remained unclear. To address this issue, HBV core genes were sequenced in three gender- and age-matched patient groups diagnosed as chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), respectively. Functional analysis of the identified mutants was performed. A novel type of large-fragment core gene deletion (LFCD) was identified exclusively in HCC patients and significantly associated with unfavorable postoperative survival. The presence of LFCDs resulted in generation of precore-polymerase fusion protein or brought the polymerase reading frame under direct control of HBV precore/core promoter, leading to its over-expression. Enhanced cell proliferation and increased tumorigenicity in nude mice were found in hepatoma cells expressing LFCDs. Because of the epsilon-binding ability of HBV polymerase, we hypothesized that the over-expressed polymerase carrying aberrant amino-terminal sequence could bind to cellular microRNAs. Screening of a panel of microRNAs revealed physical association of a precore-polymerase fusion protein with microRNA-100. A binding inhibition effect on microRNA-100 by the precore-polymerase fusion protein with up-regulation of its target, polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), was discovered. The binding inhibition and growth promoting effects could be reversed by overexpressing microRNA-100. Together, HCC patients carrying hepatitis B large-fragment core gene deletion mutants had an unfavorable postoperative prognosis. The growth promoting effect was partly due to polymerase overexpression, leading to binding inhibition of microRNA-100 and up-regulation of PLK1.

Glucose-regulated protein 94 mediates metastasis by CCT8 and the JNK pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. Cancer metastasis is a major obstacle in clinical cancer therapy. The mechanisms underlying the metastasis of HCC remain unclear. Glucose-regulated protein 94 (GRP94) is a key protein involved in mediating cancer progression, and it is highly expressed in HCC specimens. However, the role of GRP94 in cancer metastasis is unclear. A specific short hairpin RNA (shRNA) was employed to knock down GRP94 gene expression in HCC cell lines. Wound-healing migration, transwell migration, and invasion assays were performed to determine the migration and invasive ability of HCC cells. We demonstrated that silencing GRP94 inhibited HCC cell wound healing, migration, and invasion. Furthermore, our findings indicated that GRP94 knockdown might attenuate HCC cell metastasis by inhibiting CCT8/c-Jun/EMT signaling. Our study indicated that silencing GRP94 significantly reduced the migration and invasion abilities of HCC cells. Moreover, depleting GRP94 inhibited cell migration and invasion by downregulating CCT8/c-Jun signaling. Thus, our data suggest that the GRP94/CCT8/c-Jun/EMT signaling cascade might be a new therapeutic target for HCC.

Clinical significance of microRNA-155 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma

The present study aimed to evaluate the expression of microRNA-155 (miR-155) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and adjacent normal tissues, and assess its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics of this tumor type. miR-155 expression was detected in 40 HCC tissue samples and 40 samples of adjacent tumor-free tissue using fluorescent reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The association between miR-155 expression, clinicopathological features and 1-year relapse-free survival (RFS) in HCC and adjacent normal tissue samples was analyzed. RT-qPCR results revealed that, in 25 cases (62.5%), miR-155 expression levels were significantly increased in HCC tissues compared with the expression levels observed in pericarcinomatous tissues (P<0.05). miR-155 expression was observed to be significantly correlated with vessel invasion, Edmonson classification and clinical stage (P<0.05). However, miR-155 expression was not significantly correlated with gender, age, tumor size, tumor number, hepatitis B virus DNA copy number, cirrhosis or concentration of α-fetoprotein (P>0.05). A positive correlation was observed between late TNM classification of malignant tumor stage and 1-year RFS (P<0.05). Patients exhibiting high miR-155 expression levels were observed to exhibit a lower 1-year RFS than that of patients with reduced expression of miR-155 (48 vs. 73.3%), however this difference was not statistically significant (P=0.105). Additionally, correlations were observed between miR-155 expression and reduced differentiation, increased invasiveness and late stages of HCC. The current results demonstrated that miR-155 may be involved in the tumorigenesis of HCC and may be associated with clinical characteristics of HCC patients. Additional studies are required to clarify the mechanism of miR-155.

MiR-15b mediates liver cancer cells proliferation through targeting BCL-2

The incidence and mortality of liver cancer increased year by year. Our country presents high incidence of liver cancer. MicroRNAs have tissue sensitivity as tumor biomarkers that play a role by promoting tumor growth as oncogenes or inhibit malignant cell growth as tumor suppressor genes. Studies showed that miR-15b abnormal expression in the tumor and can be treated as one of the tumor molecular markers. However, miR-15b expression and role in the liver cancer cells have not been elucidated. This study intended to explore the mechanism of miR-15b effect on liver cancer occurrence and development. Liver cancer cell line HepG2 was transfected with miR-15b mimic or inhibitor. Real-time PCR was applied to detect miR-15b expression. MTT was used to test cell proliferation. Transwell assay was performed to determine cell invasive ability. Real-time PCR and Western blot were used to detect BCL2 expression. MiR-15b mimic transfection promoted miR-15b overexpression and inhibited HepG2 cell proliferation significantly (P < 0.05). MiR-15b overexpression downregulated BCL2 mRNA and protein expression obviously (P < 0.05). On the contrary, miR-15b inhibitor transfection markedly reduced miR-15b expression in liver cancer cells (P < 0.05), promoted tumor cell proliferation, and increased BCL2 mRNA and protein expression. MiR-15b expression changes did not affect cell invasion (P > 0.05). MiR-15b can inhibit HepG2 cell proliferation and down-regulate BCL2 mRNA and protein expression.

A systematic investigation based on microRNA-mediated gene regulatory network reveals that dysregulation of microRNA-19a/Cyclin D1 axis confers an oncogenic potential and a worse prognosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) contribute to a wide variety of human diseases by regulating gene expression, leading to imbalances in gene regulatory networks. To discover novel hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-related miRNA-target axes and to elucidate their functions, we here performed a systematic investigation combining biological data acquisition and integration, miRNA-target prediction, network construction, functional assay and clinical validation. As a result, a total of 117 HCC differentially expressed miRNAs were identified, and 728 high confident target genes of these miRNAs were collected. Then, the interaction network of target genes was constructed and 221 key nodes with topological importance in the network were identified according to their topological features including degree, node-betweenness, closeness and K-coreness. Among these key nodes, Cyclin D1 had the highest node-betweenness, implying its bottleneck role in the network. Luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miRNA-19a, which was one of HCC downregulated miRNAs, directly targeted Cyclin D1 in HCC cells. Moreover, miR-19a might play inhibitory roles in HCC malignancy via regulating Cyclin D1 expression. Further clinical evidence also highlighted the prognostic potential of miR-19a/Cyclin D1 axis in HCC. In conclusion, this systematic investigation provides a framework to identify featured miRNAs and their target genes which are potent effectors in the occurrence and development of HCC. More importantly, miR-19a/Cyclin D1 axis might have promising applications as a therapeutic target and a prognostic marker for patients with HCC.

Proteomic Characterization of Annexin l (ANX1) and Heat Shock Protein 27 (HSP27) as Biomarkers for Invasive Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

To search for reliable biomarkers and drug targets for management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we performed a global proteomic analysis of a pair of HCC cell lines with distinct differentiation statuses using 2-DE coupled with MALDI-TOF MS. In total, 106 and 55 proteins were successfully identified from the total cell lysate and the cytosolic, nuclear and membrane fractions in well-differentiated (HepG2) and poorly differentiated (SK-Hep–1) HCC clonal variants, respectively. Among these proteins, nine spots corresponding to proteins differentially expressed between HCC cell types were selected and confirmed by immunofluorescence staining and western blotting. Notably, Annexin 1 (ANX1), ANX–2, vimentin and stress-associated proteins, such as GRP78, HSP75, HSC–70, protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), and heat shock protein–27 (HSP27), were exclusively up-regulated in SK-Hep–1 cells. Elevated levels of ANX–4 and antioxidant/metabolic enzymes, such as MnSOD, peroxiredoxin, NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase, α-enolase and UDP-glucose dehydrogenase, were observed in HepG2 cells. We functionally demonstrated that ANX1 and HSP27 were abundantly overexpressed only in highly invasive types of HCC cells, such as Mahlavu and SK-Hep–1. Knockdown of ANX1 or HSP27 in HCC cells resulted in a severe reduction in cell migration. The in-vitro observations of ANX1 and HSP27 expressions in HCC sample was demonstrated by immunohistochemical stains performed on HCC tissue microarrays. Poorly differentiated HCC tended to have stronger ANX1 and HSP27 expressions than well-differentiated or moderately differentiated HCC. Collectively, our findings suggest that ANX1 and HSP27 are two novel biomarkers for predicting invasive HCC phenotypes and could serve as potential treatment targets.

Transcriptional activation of the IGF-II/IGF-1R axis and inhibition of IGFBP-3 by miR-155 in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by the aberrant expression of a number of genes that govern crucial signaling pathways. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis is important in this context, and the precise regulation of expression of members of this axis is known to be lost in HCC. miR-155 is a well-established oncogene in numerous types of cancer. However, to the best of our knowledge, its effect on the regulation of the IGF axis has not been investigated to date. The present study aimed to elucidate the interactions between miR-155 and key components of the IGF axis, in addition to examining its effect on HCC development. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to measure the expression of miR-155 in HCC and cirrhotic tissues, in addition to HCC cell lines. Furthermore, the effect of the induction of miR-155 expression on the expression of three members of the IGF axis [IGF II, IGF type-1 receptor (IGF-1R) and IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3)], was analyzed. Finally, the effect of miR-155 on HCC cell proliferation, migration and clonogenicity was also examined. Quantification of the expression of miR-155 demonstrated that it is upregulated in HCC. Induction of the expression of miR-155 in HCC cell lines led to the upregulation of IGF-II and IGF-IR, and the downregulation of IGFBP-3. In addition, the proliferation, migration and clonogenicity of HCC was increased following induction of miR-155 expression. miR-155 is an oncomiR, which upregulates the oncogenes, IGF-II and IGF-IR, and downregulates the tumor suppressor, IGFBP-3, thereby resulting in increased HCC cell carcinogenicity. Therefore, miR-155 may be a therapeutic target in HCC.

A Novel Microtubule-Disrupting Agent Induces Endoplasmic Reticular Stress-Mediated Cell Death in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

Here, we present evidence of a novel microtubule-disrupting agent, N-deacetyl-N-(chromone-2-carbonyl)-thiocolchicine (TCD), exhibiting potent antitumor activity (with IC₅₀ values in the nanomolar range) against hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. Cell cycle analysis revealed that TCD induced G₂/M cell-cycle arrest in a dose- and time-dependent manner in both Hep-J5 and Mahlavu HCC cell lines. TCD also induced a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and caused DNA damage. Mechanistically, TCD activated protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticular kinase and several transcription factors, including activating transcription factor (ATF) 6, ATF4, ATF3, and the CCAAT-enhancer binding protein homologous protein. These data clearly demonstrate that the antitumor activity of TCD is mechanistically linked to its capacity to trigger both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic cell death via endoplasmic reticular stress pathway. The potent antitumor activity of TCD was similarly demonstrated in a hepatocellular carcinoma xenograft model, where 5 and 10 mg/kg doses of TCD significantly arrested Hep-J5 and Mahlavu tumor growth. Our finding suggests that TCD is a promising therapeutic agent against hepatocellular carcinoma; further translational assessment of its clinical usage is warranted.

MicroRNAs: Emerging Novel Clinical Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinomas

The discovery of small non-coding RNAs known as microRNAs has refined our view of the complexity of gene expression regulation. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the fifth most frequent cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide, dysregulation of microRNAs has been implicated in all aspects of hepatocarcinogenesis. In addition, alterations of microRNA expression have also been reported in non-cancerous liver diseases including chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis. MicroRNAs have been proposed as clinically useful diagnostic biomarkers to differentiate HCC from different liver pathologies and healthy controls. Unique patterns of microRNA expression have also been implicated as biomarkers for prognosis as well as to predict and monitor therapeutic responses in HCC. Since dysregulation has been detected in various specimens including primary liver cancer tissues, serum, plasma, and urine, microRNAs represent novel non-invasive markers for HCC screening and predicting therapeutic responses. However, despite a significant number of studies, a consensus on which microRNA panels, sample types, and methodologies for microRNA expression analysis have to be used has not yet been established. This review focuses on potential values, benefits, and limitations of microRNAs as new clinical markers for diagnosis, prognosis, prediction, and therapeutic monitoring in HCC.

MiR-9 and miR-21 as prognostic biomarkers for recurrence in papillary thyroid cancer

Despite low mortality rates, nodal recurrence in papillary thyroid carcinoma occurs in up to 20 % of patients. Emerging evidences indicate that dysregulated microRNAs are implicated in the process of metastasis. In the present study, we investigated whether miR-9, miR-10b, miR-21 and miR-146b levels are predictive of papillary thyroid carcinoma recurrence. Using macro-dissection followed by quantitative real-time PCR, we measured miR-9, miR-10b, miR-21 and miR-146b expression levels in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples of 66 patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma categorized into two groups: the recurrent group (n = 19) and the non-recurrent group (n = 47). All patients underwent total thyroidectomy and were followed for at least 120 months after surgery to be considered recurrence-free. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed using the Cox proportional hazard model in order to identify associations between multiple clinical variables and microRNA expression levels and papillary thyroid carcinoma recurrence. MiR-9 and miR-21 expression levels were found to be significant prognostic factors for recurrence in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (HR = 1.48; 95 % CI 1.24-1.77, p < 0.001; and HR = 1.52; 95 % CI 1.18-1.94, p = 0.001; respectively). Multivariate analysis involving the expression level of miR-9 and miR-21 and various clinical parameters identified the expression of these microRNAs as independent prognostic factors for papillary thyroid cancer patients. In conclusion, our results support the potential clinical value of miR-9 and miR-21 as prognostic biomarkers for recurrence in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Liposarcoma miRNA signatures identified from genome-wide miRNA expression profiling

AIMS

To identify the miRNA expression profile of liposarcoma (LPS) that could facilitate detection of LPS, and provide the basis for further investigation of molecular-targeted therapeutic drugs.

MATERIALS & METHODS

A real-time quantitative PCR assay was performed to analyze the expression of 1888 miRNAs from 25 LPS tumor tissue samples, 16 samples of adipose tissue adjacent to the tumors and 18 normal adipose tissue samples from patients with LPS.

RESULTS

Ten dysregulated miRNAs were identified that effectively distinguished LPS tissue from adipose tissue and benign lipoma tissue, and LPS tumor tissues from normal adipose tissues in LPS patients. Furthermore, the expression profiles of miRNAs could also classify the subtype of LPS.

CONCLUSION

The identified miRNAs appear to be novel biomarkers for the detection of LPS, and may contribute to an understanding of the mechanisms of LPS tumorigenesis and its development, and further elucidate the characteristics of LPS subtypes.

Different normalization strategies might cause inconsistent variation in circulating microRNAs in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Circulating microRNA (miRNA) are promising biomarkers for diagnosing and prognosticating numerous diseases. Reports have demonstrated controversial or even contradictory conclusions in studies on circulating microRNA. This study aimed to evaluate the potential bias of using different reference genes for analyzing circulating microRNAs in the same malignant digestive diseases.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We measured plasma concentrations of U6-snRNA, let-7a, miRNA-21, miRNA-106a, miRNA-155, miRNA-219, miRNA-221, and miRNA-16 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), gastric carcinoma (GC), hepatic cirrhosis, hepatitis B, and healthy volunteers using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The GeNorm, Normfinder, BestKeeper, and Comparative ΔCq algorithms integrated in RefFinder were used to screen the most suitable reference genes from the candidates. The 4 commonly used statistical evaluation software packages provided different results regarding the stability of the candidate reference genes.

RESULTS

RefFinder revealed miRNA-106a and miRNA-21 as the most stably expressed reference genes, with comprehensive stability values of 1.189 and 1.861, respectively. U6-snRNA was the most unstable nucleic acid in our data. When 5 normalization strategies were compared using U6-snRNA, serum volume, miRNA-106a, miRNA-21, or the mean value of miRNA-106a and miRNA-21, obvious expression bias was detected in almost all target microRNAs. Intriguingly, all these normalization strategies indicated that circulating miRNA-155 is greatly upregulated in patients with HCC and GC, but downregulated in benign hepatic disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Single reference genes used without justification in plasma microRNAs produce significant analysis bias or even erroneous results. Circulating miRNA-155 may be a promising non-invasive biomarker for discriminating malignant digestive tumors from the corresponding benign diseases.

Comprehensive analysis of microRNA-regulated protein interaction network reveals the tumor suppressive role of microRNA-149 in human hepatocellular carcinoma via targeting AKT-mTOR pathway

BACKGROUND

Our previous study identified AKT1, AKT2 and AKT3 as unfavorable prognostic factors for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, limited data are available on their exact mechanisms in HCC. Since microRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in various human cancers including HCC, we aimed to screen miRNAs targeting AKTs and investigate their underlying mechanisms in HCC by integrating bioinformatics prediction, network analysis, functional assay and clinical validation.

METHODS

Five online programs of miRNA target prediction and RNAhybrid which calculate the minimum free energy (MFE) of the duplex miRNA:mRNA were used to screen optimized miRNA-AKT interactions. Then, miRNA-regulated protein interaction network was constructed and 5 topological features ('Degree', 'Node-betweenness', 'Edge-betweenness', 'Closeness' and 'Modularity') were analyzed to link candidate miRNA-AKT interactions to oncogenesis and cancer hallmarks. Further systematic experiments were performed to validate the prediction results.

RESULTS

Six optimized miRNA-AKT interactions (miR-149-AKT1, miR-302d-AKT1, miR-184-AKT2, miR-708-AKT2, miR-122-AKT3 and miR-124-AKT3) were obtained by combining the miRNA target prediction and MFE calculation. Then, 103 validated targets for the 6 candidate miRNAs were collected from miRTarBase. According to the enrichment analysis on GO items and KEGG pathways, these validated targets were significantly enriched in many known oncogenic pathways for HCC. In addition, miRNA-regulated protein interaction network were divided into 5 functional modules. Importantly, AKT1 and its interaction with mTOR respectively had the highest node-betweenness and edge-betweenness, implying their bottleneck roles in the network. Further experiments confirmed that miRNA-149 directly targeted AKT1 in HCC by a miRNA luciferase reporter approach. Then, re-expression of miR-149 significantly inhibited HCC cell proliferation and tumorigenicity by regulating AKT1/mTOR pathway. Notably, miR-149 down-regulation in clinical HCC tissues was correlated with tumor aggressiveness and poor prognosis of patients.

CONCLUSION

This comprehensive analysis identified a list of miRNAs targeting AKTs and revealed their critical roles in HCC malignant progression. Especially, miR-149 may function as a tumor suppressive miRNA and play an important role in inhibiting the HCC tumorigenesis by modulating the AKT/mTOR pathway. Our clinical evidence also highlight the prognostic potential of miR-149 in HCC. The newly identified miR-149/AKT/mTOR axis might be a promising therapeutic target in the prevention and treatment of HCC.

Aberrant Expression of MicroRNA-15a and MicroRNA-16 Synergistically Associates with Tumor Progression and Prognosis in Patients with Colorectal Cancer. Gastroenterol Res Pract. 2014;2014:364549. [PMID: 25435873 PMCID: PMC4236961 DOI: 10.1155/2014/364549]

The aim of this study was to reveal the associations of microRNA miR-15a and miR-16 dysregulation with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer. As a result, we found that miR-15a and miR-16 expression, detected by quantitative real time-PCR, were both significantly downregulated in colorectal cancer tissues compared with adjacent colorectal mucosa (both P < 0.001). Particularly, the expression levels of miR-15a in colorectal cancer tissues were positively correlated with those of miR-16 significantly (Spearman correlation coefficient r = 0.652, P < 0.001). In addition, miR-15a and/or miR-16 downregulation were all significantly associated with advanced TNM stage (all P < 0.05), poorly histological grade (all P < 0.05), and positive lymph node metastasis (all P < 0.05). Moreover, the survival analysis identified miR-15a expression, miR-16 expression, and miR-15a/miR-16 combination as independent predictors of both unfavorable overall survival and disease-free survival. Interestingly, the prognostic value of miR-15a/miR-16 combination was more significant than miR-15a or miR-16 expression alone. Collectively, the aberrant expression of miR-15a and miR-16 could be used to stratify patients with aggressive tumor progression of colorectal cancer. The combined pattern of miR-15a and miR-16 downregulation has a significant value for distinguishing patients with a worse prognosis of colorectal cancer after surgery.