<i>miR-154</i> Influences HNSCC Development and Progression through Regulation of the Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition Process and Could Be Used as a Potential Biomarker
Weronika Tomaszewska,
Joanna Kozłowska-Masłoń,
Dawid Baranowski,
Anna Perkowska,
Sandra Szałkowska,
Urszula Kazimierczak,
Patricia Severino,
Katarzyna Lamperska,
Tomasz Kolenda
Affiliations
Weronika Tomaszewska
Department of Cancer Immunology, Chair of Medical Biotechnology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 8 Rokietnicka Street, 60-806 Poznan, Poland
Joanna Kozłowska-Masłoń
Laboratory of Cancer Genetics, Greater Poland Cancer Centre, Garbary 15, 61-866 Poznan, Poland
Dawid Baranowski
Department of Cancer Immunology, Chair of Medical Biotechnology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 8 Rokietnicka Street, 60-806 Poznan, Poland
Anna Perkowska
Department of Cancer Immunology, Chair of Medical Biotechnology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 8 Rokietnicka Street, 60-806 Poznan, Poland
Sandra Szałkowska
Department of Cancer Immunology, Chair of Medical Biotechnology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 8 Rokietnicka Street, 60-806 Poznan, Poland
Urszula Kazimierczak
Department of Cancer Immunology, Chair of Medical Biotechnology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 8 Rokietnicka Street, 60-806 Poznan, Poland
Patricia Severino
Centro de Pesquisa Experimental, Albert Einstein Research and Education Institute, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Av. Albert Einstein, 627-Jardim Leonor, São Paulo 05652-900, SP, Brazil
Katarzyna Lamperska
Laboratory of Cancer Genetics, Greater Poland Cancer Centre, Garbary 15, 61-866 Poznan, Poland
Tomasz Kolenda
Laboratory of Cancer Genetics, Greater Poland Cancer Centre, Garbary 15, 61-866 Poznan, Poland
MicroRNAs and their role in cancer have been extensively studied for the past decade. Here, we analyzed the biological role and diagnostic potential of miR-154-5p and miR-154-3p in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). miRNA expression analyses were performed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data accessed from cBioPortal, UALCAN, Santa Cruz University, and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The expression data were correlated with clinicopathological parameters. The functional enrichment was assessed with Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). The immunological profiles were assessed using the ESTIMATE tool and RNAseq data from TCGA. All statistical analyses were performed with GraphPad Prism and Statistica. The study showed that both miR-154-5p and miR-154-3p were downregulated in the HNSCC samples and their expression levels correlated with tumor localization, overall survival, cancer stage, tumor grade, and HPV p16 status. GSEA indicated that individuals with the increased levels of miR-154 had upregulated AKT-MTOR, CYCLIN D1, KRAS, EIF4E, RB, ATM, and EMT gene sets. Finally, the elevated miR-154 expression correlated with better immune response. This study showed that miR-154 is highly involved in HNSCC pathogenesis, invasion, and immune response. The implementation of miR-154 as a biomarker may improve the effectiveness of HNSCC treatment.
