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Diagnostics and Therapeutic Potential of miR-205 and miR-34a in Ovarian Cancer Management: A miRNA-Target-Based
Vivek Kumar1, Archana Pandey1, Arisha Arora2
1Department of Biotechnology, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, Prayagraj, India.
Abstract:
Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) treatment strategies mainly focused on surgery combined with chemotherapy. Recent targeted therapy techniques emerge as milestone and could be used for management of ovarian cancer (OC) progression with more efficacy. The aim is to evaluate the therapeutic and diagnostic potential of microRNA (miRNA) in management of EOC using in silico and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) expression analysis. We performed functional enrichment and miRNA-Target genes expression analysis in 48 EOC and 22 normal tissue samples using qRT-PCR and correlated with miRNA expression data in matched samples to evaluate the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of miRNA in OC management. In silico functional enrichment analysis revealed miRNA association with disease. Target genes of miRNAs participate in several biologically important pathways leading to cancer progression. Targets of miRNA-205 and miRNA-34a were significantly downregulated, and upregulated, respectively, in EOC. Moreover, significant negative correlation between relative expression of miRNA-205 and target genes (BCL2, ZEB1, E2F1, and TP53) was observed with r = -0.813; r = -0.755; r = -0.559; and r = -0.767, respectively. Similarly, miRNA-34a also showed higher negative correlation with target genes (MDM4, MAPK3, BRCA1, AREG) with r = -0.840; r = -0.870; r = -0.622; and r = -0.623, respectively. In addition, receiver operating characteristics analysis of combined miRNA panel, miRNA-205-Target gene panel, and miRNA-34a-Target gene panel exhibited higher diagnostics value with area under the curve (AUC) of 92.7 (p < 0.0001), 94.8 (p < 0.0001), and 98.3 (p < 0.0001), respectively. Negative Correlation between miRNA and target genes expression data in matched samples highlights therapeutic potential of miRNA in EOC management. Moreover, combined diagnostic potential of miRNA-target gene panel could predict risk of EOC with higher AUC, sensitivity, and specificity.
Insights
This study explores microRNAs (miRNAs) as potential biomarkers for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Specific miRNAs, like miRNA-205 and miRNA-34a, show promise for diagnosing and treating ovarian cancer.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) treatment relies on surgery and chemotherapy.
- Targeted therapies offer improved efficacy for ovarian cancer (OC) management.
- MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are emerging as key regulators in cancer progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of miRNAs in EOC.
- To analyze miRNA and target gene expression in EOC tissues.
- To correlate miRNA expression with clinical outcomes.
Main Methods:
- In silico functional enrichment analysis of miRNAs.
- Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) for miRNA and target gene expression.
- Correlation analysis between miRNA and target gene expression in 48 EOC and 22 normal tissues.
- Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for diagnostic value.
Main Results:
- miRNA-205 was downregulated, while miRNA-34a was upregulated in EOC.
- Significant negative correlations were observed between miRNA-205/miRNA-34a and their target genes.
- Combined miRNA-target gene panels demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy (AUC > 92.7%) for EOC detection.
Conclusions:
- miRNA expression patterns are associated with EOC development.
- Negative correlations highlight the therapeutic potential of miRNAs in EOC.
- miRNA-target gene panels offer a promising strategy for early EOC risk prediction.
