Comparative Analysis of Serum and Tissue miRNA Expression Profiles and Regulatory Pathways in Early-Stage Ovarian...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Molecular Biology
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial roles in gene regulation and cancer development.
• Understanding the differences and similarities between serum and tissue miRNAs in early-stage ovarian cancer (EOC) is vital for biomarker identification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize distinct miRNA expression profiles and regulatory mechanisms in serum versus tissue of EOC patients.
• To identify candidate biomarkers for non-invasive early diagnosis of EOC.

Main Methods:

• Integrated analysis of public datasets (GEO, TCGA) for differentially expressed miRNAs.
• Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and machine learning for core miRNA identification.
• Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and functional enrichment analyses (GO, KEGG) to compare serum and tissue miRNA targets.

Main Results:

• No overlapping core miRNAs were found between serum and tissue compartments.
• Serum miRNAs showed a predominant up-regulation, while tissue miRNAs were mainly down-regulated.
• Despite divergent expression, both converged on cell cycle and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways, indicating functional homology.

Conclusions:

• Serum and tissue miRNAs in EOC exhibit distinct expression patterns but homologous regulatory functions.
• Serum miRNAs are not passive leakage but may be actively involved in exosomal tumor regulation.
• Serum miRNAs can accurately reflect the molecular status of tumor tissues, supporting liquid biopsy for early EOC detection.