High-throughput nucleotide sequencing reveals new circulatory miRNA genes in cervical cancer patients
Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, and it is the second gynecological cancer in women after breast cancer. Recent evidence has shown miRNAs are dysregulated in cervical cancer, which can be used as a valuable tool for diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment. In this study, we aimed to find a new miRNA signature for cervical cancer and its potential target genes. 5.0 mL of whole blood were taken from 20 samples, 10 cervical cancer, and 10 healthy women, then we separated the serum and extracted RNA. The RNA samples of each group were pooled together. The differentially expressed miRNAs were found using high-throughput nucleotide sequencing. The target genes of the selected miRNAs were predicted by two tools (miRTarBase and TargetScan). The mRNA data of the target genes were downloaded from TCGA and processed with R version 4.4.1 for survival analysis. The study found two low-expressed miRNAs (miR-384 and miR-6880-5p) and three upregulated miRNAs (miR-325, miR-504-5p, and miR-3074-5p); those miRNAs are targeting 11 critical genes in cancer pathways. Survival analysis identified the target genes CDK6 and FGF19 as potential prognostic genes. The qRT-PCR results showed that the expression of the miRNAs miR-6880-5p and ch21_12598 was downregulated in the patient group. The current study found five known miRNAs and one novel miRNA in cervical cancer that target essential genes in cancer pathways. These potential biomarkers can be further investigated for their potential role in cervical cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment.
