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Objective: Lung cancer (LC) is diagnosed mostly in advanced, non-operable stage, with poor prognosis. The analysis of microRNAs may be a useful tool for early and non-invasive detection of cancer. Dicer and Drosha are enzymes with an essential role for microRNA biogenesis. The aim of our study was to analyze the expression of miRNA-27a-3p, miRNA-31, miRNA-182, miRNA-195 with the ability to reciprocal regulation of Dicer and Drosha expression in lung cancer patients., Patients and Methods: The relative expression of microRNAs was detected by qPCR in plasma of 160 LC patients. The U-Mann Whitney test was used to compare the relative expression between particular groups of lung cancer patients and healthy individuals. The diagnostic value of microRNAs examination was analyzed using a receiver operating curve., Results: We demonstrated that the plasma levels of miRNA-27, miRNA-31 and miRNA-182 were significantly higher and miRNA-195 significantly lower in the whole group of LC patients and in patients with early stages of NSCLC, in comparison with healthy donors. ROC analysis showed that four studied microRNAs have a potential diagnostic value for early stages of NSCLC with AUC=0.95 for miRNA-27a (94% sensitivity and 81% specificity, p=0.0001), 0.71 for miRNA-31 (73% sensitivity and 61% specificity, p=0.001) 0.77 for miRNA-182 (70% sensitivity and 79% specificity, p=0.0001) and 0.82 for miRNA-195 (74% sensitivity and 80% specificity, p=0.0001)., Conclusions: We have proved that the expression of miRNA-27a-3p, miRNA-31, miRNA-182, and miRNA-195 in patients with LC is different from the expression of these molecules in healthy people. The examination of these microRNAs in plasma could be used in non-invasive lung cancer diagnosis.

Objective: It has been documented that COPD is a risk factor for lung cancer. In COPD patients, changes in lung angiogenesis - a critical process in the development of lung cancer - have been poorly investigated. We aimed to determine whether serum from COPD patients could promote the proangiogenic capabilities of endothelial cells in vitro., Patients and Methods: The research was carried out using sera from COPD patients and healthy volunteers, endothelial cells EA.hy926, and bronchial epithelial cells. The concentration of angiogenic molecules was quantified using ELISA tests. The proliferation and migration of EA.hy926 were tested using fluorescence-based methods. Tube formation was analyzed with a commercially available assay., Results: Sera from COPD patients and conditioned media generated by epithelial cells exposed to these sera stimulate proliferation, but not migration, of EA.hy926. This coincided with increased tube formation in both experimental regimens. The sera from COPD patients contained increased levels of CCL2, CCL21, and HGF, whereas the conditioned media generated by epithelial cells treated with these sera exhibited increased levels of CCL2, CCL21, CXCL8, FGF, and sICAM-1. The concentration of angiogenic markers in the sera and conditioned media, and their effect on the behavior of the endothelium were independent of smoking status (COPD and controls), stage of obstruction, and disease group (COPD)., Conclusions: The increased incidence of lung malignancy in COPD patients may be associated, at least to some extent, with the direct and indirect proangiogenic activity of their sera (via alterations in the secretome of epithelial cells).