Dysregulation of microRNAs in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma

Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphomas (AITLs) are the second most frequent peripheral T-cell lymphomas in humans worldwide and histomorphologically well characterized. MicroRNAs are a group of small non-coding RNAs that can negatively regulate gene expression on a posttranscriptional level. Their dysregulation has been shown to be of importance in numerous tumour entities.

As a first step towards understanding the possible influence of microRNA-dysregulation in AITL, we analyzed the expression signatures of 760 microRNAs in 30 nodal AITLs in comparison to reactive lymphadenitis with T-zone hyperplasia.

We found miR-34a, miR-146a and miR-193b to be up-regulated, as well as miR-140-3p, let-7g, miR-30b and miR-664 to be down-regulated in AITL to a significant level.

The microRNA-signatures of AITL reveal some overlap to autoimmune diseases, virus-triggered lymphomas and angiogenic factors that, coupled with future studies, will potentially provide better understanding of this disease.