To investigate the molecular mechanism and prognostic value of miR-551a in glioma based on bioinformatics

Jiawei Liang ¹, Chaoqiang Zeng ², Wendi Li ³

⁰Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China.

Nucleosides, Nucleotides & Nucleic Acids +

|

September 1, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

MicroRNA-551a (miR-551a) is upregulated in glioma patients and predicts poor prognosis. Inhibiting miR-551a reduces glioma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, indicating its role as an oncogene.

Area Of Science

Oncology
Molecular Biology
Biomarker Discovery

Background

Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors, characterized by aggressive growth and high recurrence rates.
Identifying novel biomarkers for glioma diagnosis and prognosis is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play significant roles in cancer development and progression, making them potential therapeutic targets.

Purpose Of The Study

To investigate the prognostic significance and molecular mechanisms of miR-551a in glioma.
To evaluate miR-551a as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for glioma.
To explore the role of miR-551a in regulating glioma cell functions.

Main Methods

Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) to assess miR-551a expression in glioma patients and controls.
Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, Cox regression, and Kaplan-Meier (KM) curve analyses for diagnostic and prognostic evaluation.
Cell proliferation (CCK-8) and invasion (Transwell) assays to assess the functional impact of miR-551a inhibition.
Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) analyses to identify miR-551a target genes.

Main Results

miR-551a was significantly upregulated in the cerebrospinal fluid of glioma patients compared to controls (P < 0.001).
miR-551a demonstrated strong diagnostic capacity for glioma (AUC = 0.792, P < 0.001) and was identified as an independent risk factor for unfavorable prognosis (HR = 3.858, P < 0.01).
Patients with low miR-551a levels showed a favorable prognosis (P = 0.004).
Inhibition of miR-551a suppressed glioma cell proliferation (P < 0.05), migration (P < 0.01), and invasion (P < 0.001).
CALM3 was identified as a critical regulatory target of miR-551a (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

miR-551a serves as a valuable biological indicator for glioma prediction and prognosis.
miR-551a functions as an oncogene in glioma progression by regulating glioma cell functions, potentially via CALM3.
Targeting miR-551a may offer a novel therapeutic strategy for glioma treatment.

Keywords:

CALM3 Glioma bioinformatics miRNA prognosis

Related Concept Videos

MicroRNAs

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns (non-coding regions of a gene) or intergenic regions (stretches of DNA present between genes). Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself, forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA...