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The differential expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in plasma of pancreatic cancer (PC) patients may act as a diagnostic biomarker. A four-stage study was performed to identify plasma miRNAs with potential in detecting PC. Exiqon panels (20 PC vs. 10 normal controls (NCs)) were applied in the screening phase to obtain miRNA profiling. The identified miRNAs were further assessed in the training (40 PC vs. 40 NCs) and testing stages (112 PC vs. 116 NCs) with qRT-PCR assays. A six-miRNA signature including up-regulated miR-122-5p, miR-125b-5p, miR-192-5p, miR-193b-3p, miR-221-3p and miR-27b-3p was identified. The signature could accurately discriminate PC patients from NCs with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.848, 0.833 and 0.937 for the training, testing and the external validation stage (41 PC vs. 50 NCs), respectively. The multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that down-regulated plasma miR-125b-5p could predict worse OS independent from late tumor stage and high CA19-9. All the six miRNAs except miR-122-5p showed high expression levels in PC tissues than those in matched normal tissues. MiR-122-5p and miR-193b-3p were up-regulated, while miR-221-3p was down-regulated in plasma exosomes from PC patients. Bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that the miRNAs might involve in several molecular pathways closely related with PC such as p53 signaling pathway, pancreatic cancer, TGF-beta signaling pathway and so on. In conclusion, we identified a six-miRNA signature in plasma which could act as a non-invasive biomarker in diagnosis and prognosis of PC. Plasma miR-125b-5p might act as an independent biomarker in predicting OS of PC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) has been one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in global. The differential expression profiles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in CRC plasma of patients have the potential to serve as a diagnostic biomarker. We conducted a four-stage study to identify the potential plasma miRNAs for CRC detection. In the initial screening phase, Exiqon panel (miRCURY-Ready-to-Use-PCR-Human-panel-I + II-V1.M) including 3 CRC pools and 1 normal controls (NCs) pool were applied to acquire miRNA profiles. In the training stage (30 CRC VS. 30 NCs) and testing stage (79 CRC VS. 76 NCs), quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was utilized to conduct candidate miRNA profiles. Then the identified miRNAs were verified in external validation stage (30 CRC VS. 26 NCs). Expression levels of identified miRNAs were assessed in tissue samples (24 pairs) and plasma exosomes (18 CRC VS. 18 NCs). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy. Seven miRNAs (miR-103a-3p, miR-127-3p, miR-151a-5p, miR-17-5p, miR-181a-5p, miR-18a-5p and miR-18b-5p) were significantly overexpressed in CRC compared with NCs. Area under the ROC curve of the seven-miRNA signature was 0.762, 0.824 and 0.895 for the training, testing and the external validation stages, respectively. Additionally, miR-103a-3p, miR-127-3p, miR-17-5p and miR-18a-5p were discovered significantly up-regulated in CRC tissues; while miR-17-5p, miR-181a-5p, miR-18a-5p and miR-18b-5p were significantly elevated in CRC plasma exosomes. In conclusion, we established a seven-miRNA signature in the peripheral plasma for CRC detection. Highlights • We investigated plasma miRNA profiles of CRC in a four-stage process and present a seven-miRNA signature in discriminating CRC. • We found that miR-103a-3p, miR-127-3p, miR-17-5p and miR-18a-5p were significantly up-regulated in CRC tissues. • We found that miR-17-5p, miR-181a-5p, miR-18a-5p and miR-18b-5p were significantly elevated in CRC plasma exosomes. • We discovered that plasma miR-26a-5p was only up-regulated in colon cancer patients but not in rectal cancer. • We found none of the seven miRNAs demonstrated significant different expression in patients with stage III + IV compared to those with stage I + II. • We found that no difference of the above seven plasma miRNA between left-sided and right-sided CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We looked for differentially expressed MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). Forty-eight miRNAs were identified through the initial screening phase (2 IgAN pools vs. 1 normal control (NC) pool) using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) based Exiqon panel (miRCURY-Ready-to-Use-PCR-Human-panel-I + II-V 1 .M). By qRT-PCR, these miRNAs were further assessed in the training (32 IgAN VS. 31 NCs) and testing stages (51 IgAN VS. 51 NCs). The renal pathological lesions of patients with IgAN were evaluated according to Lee's grading system. We discovered a plasma miRNA signature including four up-regulated miRNAs (miR-148a-3p, miR-150-5p, miR-20a-5p and miR-425-3p) and the areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) were 0.80 and 0.76 for the training and testing stage, respectively. The expression of the four miRNAs in IgAN grade I–II subgroups (according to Lee's grading system) was obviously higher than that in IgAN grade III-V ( P  < .05). In summary, the plasma e xpression of miR-148a-3p, miR-150-5p, miR-20a-5p and miR-425-3p were up-regulated in patients with IgAN, especially the early-stage disease. Further studies are needed to explore the roles of the four miRNAs in the pathogenesis and progression of IgAN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The altered expression of circulating miRNAs has been discovered in many autoimmune diseases (ADs). With rare existing research, it is still unclear in Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). We detected plasma miRNA expression of HT patients in this three-stage designed study. Methods Differently expressed miRNAs (4 HT pools vs. 1 normal control pool) were identified using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) based Exiqon panel (miRCURY-Ready-to-Use- PCR-Human- panel-I + II-V1.M) in the initial discovery stage. These miRNAs were then confirmed in the training stage and further validated in the testing stage using qRT-PCR with 64 (32 HT vs. 32 NCs) and 136 samples (68 HT vs. 68 NCs), respectively. Results A total of 10 miRNAs showed differential expression through the training stage. For further validation in the testing stage, expression of 6 miRNAs ( miR - 205 , miR - 20a - 3p , miR - 375 , miR - 296 , miR - 451 , miR - 500a ) were consistent with those in the training stage. Combination results showed that these 6 miRNAs were significantly up-regulated in peripheral plasma of HT patients compared with normal controls ( P < 0 . 05 ). In addition, the six-miRNA signature was evaluated to be a potential diagnostic marker of HT. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the signature were 0.80, 0.75 and 0.69 for the training, testing and the combined stages, respectively. Three miRNAs were associated with TSH levels in HT patients ( miR - 451 , P = 0.043; miR - 375 , P = 0.043; miR - 500a , P = 0.043). Additionally, miR - 20a - 3p was related with TgAb level ( P = 0.046). Conclusions We identified a miRNA signature including six dysregulated plasma miRNAs which could act as a diagnostic marker in plasma of HT, providing more evidence and better understanding for the association between circulating miRNAs and autoimmune diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]