MiR-423-5p is a novel endogenous control for the quantification of circulating miRNAs in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Yuanyuan Guo,
Xuantong Zhou,
Feng Gao,
Minjie Wang,
Qi Yang,
Xin Li,
Zhihua Liu,
Aiping Luo
Affiliations
Yuanyuan Guo
The State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
Xuantong Zhou
Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
Feng Gao
Department of Colorectal Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510655, China; Guangdong Institute of Gastroenterology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Colorectal and Pelvic Floor Disease, Supported by National Key Clinical Discipline, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510655, China
Minjie Wang
Department of Clinical Laboratory, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
Qi Yang
The State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
Xin Li
The State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
Zhihua Liu
The State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
Aiping Luo
The State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China; Corresponding author.
Circulating miRNA expression is most commonly measured by qRT-PCR, however, the lack of a suitable endogenous control hinders people from evaluating the accurate changes in miRNA expression levels and developing the non-invasive biomarkers. In this study, we aimed to screen the specific, highly stable endogenous control in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) to overcome the obstacle. We selected “housekeeping” miRNAs according to the published database and initially acquired 21 miRNAs. Subsequently, we screened these miRNAs using GSE106817 and TCGA datasets according to specific inclusion criteria and evaluated the suitability of “candidate” miRNAs. Among these miRNAs, the average abundance of miR-423-5p was relatively high in serum. Notably, miR-423-5p expression in serum showed no significant difference between ESCC patients and healthy controls (n = 188, P = 0.29). Moreover, among these miRNAs, miR-423-5p was the most stable miRNA using the NormFinder algorithms. Overall, these results indicate that miR-423-5p, as a novel and optimal endogenous control, could be used to quantify circulating miRNAs in ESCC.
