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Published on: November 19, 2019
Profiling miRNAs in nasopharyngeal carcinoma FFPE tissue by microarray and Next Generation Sequencing
Jin Peng1, Yanjun Feng1, Gabriel Rinaldi1
1Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Science, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA ; Research Center for Neglected Diseases of Poverty, School of Medicine and Health Science, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) detection needs better biomarkers. MicroRNA (miRNA) profiling of Formalin Fixed Paraffin Embedded (FFPE) tissues using targeted and untargeted methods shows promise for identifying novel NPC biomarkers.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a squamous-cell carcinoma with a distinct geographic distribution.
- Current Tumor Node Metastasis (TNM) staging lacks specificity due to NPC's biological heterogeneity.
- Improved biomarkers are crucial for accurate NPC prognosis and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To detail methods for microRNA (miRNA) biomarker discovery in Formalin Fixed Paraffin Embedded (FFPE) NPC tissues.
- To evaluate targeted (microarray) and untargeted (small RNA-Seq) platforms for NPC biomarker identification.
- To identify a miRNA signature associated with NPC detection.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Formalin Fixed Paraffin Embedded (FFPE) tissues from nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients.
- Employed both targeted (microarray) and untargeted (small RNA-Seq) platforms for microRNA (miRNA) discovery.
- Analyzed miRNA profiles to identify potential NPC biomarkers.
Main Results:
- Both microarray and small RNA-Seq platforms identified a concise miRNA signature (1-5% of known miRNAs).
- The untargeted small RNA-Seq approach identified "unknown" miRNAs associated with NPC.
- Identified miRNA profiles strongly correlated with NPC presence.
Conclusions:
- MicroRNA profiling of FFPE tissues offers a viable strategy for NPC biomarker discovery.
- Both targeted and untargeted miRNA discovery platforms can yield significant results for NPC.
- The identified miRNA signatures hold potential for improving NPC detection and prognosis.
