Biomedicines (Jun 2023)

MicroRNAs Differentially Expressed in Actinic Keratosis and Healthy Skin Scrapings

  • Maria Vincenza Chiantore,
  • Marco Iuliano,
  • Roberta Maria Mongiovì,
  • Fabiola Luzi,
  • Giorgio Mangino,
  • Lorenzo Grimaldi,
  • Luisa Accardi,
  • Gianna Fiorucci,
  • Giovanna Romeo,
  • Paola Di Bonito

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11061719
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 6
p. 1719

Abstract

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Actinic keratosis (AK) is a carcinoma in situ precursor of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), the second most common cancer affecting the Caucasian population. AK is frequently present in the sun-exposed skin of the elderly population, UV radiation being the main cause of this cancer, and other risk factors contributing to AK incidence. The dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) observed in different cancers leads to an improper expression of miRNA targets involved in several cellular pathways. The TaqMan Array Human MicroRNA Card assay for miRNA expression profiling was performed in pooled AK compared to healthy skin scraping samples from the same patients. Forty-three miRNAs were modulated in the AK samples. The expression of miR-19b (p p p p −10 p −8). Selected genes regulating the KEGG pathways, i.e., TP53, MDM2, CDKN1A, CDK6, and CCND1, were analyzed. MiRNAs modulated in AK regulate different pathways involved in tumorigenesis, indicating miRNA regulation as a critical step in keratinocyte cancer.

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