The Role of miRNA-221 and miRNA-34a in Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer of the Head and Neck Region
Author:
Tamas Tiberiu1ORCID, Raduly Lajos2ORCID, Berindan-Neagoe Ioana2ORCID, Dinu Cristian1, Botan Emil3, Bumbu Bogdan4, Tamas Adela5, Stoia Sebastian1ORCID, Leucuta Daniel Corneliu6ORCID, Bran Simion1, Onisor Florin1ORCID, Băciuț Grigore1, Armencea Gabriel1, Băciuț Mihaela1
Affiliation:
1. Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Implantology, Faculty of Dentistry, “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania 2. Research Center for Functional Genomics, Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania 3. Department of Pathology, Emergency County Hospital, 400347 Cluj-Napoca, Romania 4. Department of Oral Surgery, Dental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania 5. Doctoral School, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania 6. Medical Informatics and Biostatistics Department, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Abstract
Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is one of the most frequent types of malignancy in the human body with an increasing incidence. Short, non-coding RNA molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs) can control post-transcriptional gene expression and they have a significant role in several physiological cellular processes and pathologies, including cancer. Depending on the functions of the genes, miRNAs may function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. The aim of this paper was to describe the role of miRNA-34a and miRNA-221 in head and neck NMSC. Thirty-eight NMSC match paired (tumor and adjacent) tissue samples were evaluated by qRT-PCR. Total RNA was extracted and isolated from tissue samples using the phenol-chloroform (Trireagent) method according to the manufacturer’s protocol. The concentration of RNA was measured by a NanoDrop-1000 spectrophotometer. The expression level of each miRNA was calculated by threshold cycle. For all statistical tests, the 0.05 significance level was used and two-tailed p values. All analyses were conducted in an R environment for statistical computing and graphics. We found the miRNA-221 being overexpressed in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (p < 0.05), basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and basosquamous cell carcinoma (BSC) compared with adjacent normal tissue. Additionally, the levels of miRNA-221 were two times higher (p < 0.05) in cases where the excision of the tumor was done with positive margins (R1), which means that we are the first to highlight the potential role of miRNA-221 in the microscopical local invasion. Mi-RNA-34a expression was altered in the malignant tissue compared with the adjacent normal one both in BCC and SCC but not statistically significantly. In conclusion, NMSC are challenging because of their increasing incidence and rapidly evolving development and discovering their molecular mechanisms of action lead us to understand tumorigenesis and evolution, while also contributing to the implementation of novel therapeutic keys.
Funder
Doctoral School of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj Napoca, Romania
Subject
Genetics (clinical),Genetics
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