State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Institute and Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Mol Carcinog. 2011 Feb;50(2):136-42. doi: 10.1002/mc.20712. Epub 2010 Dec 10.
Numerous studies have shown that aberrant microRNA (miRNA) expression is associated with the development and progression of various types of human cancer and serum miRNAs are potential biomarkers. This study examined whether some commonly deregulated miRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are presented in serum of patients with HCC and can serve as diagnostic markers. Serum miRNAs (miR-21, miR-122, and miR-223) were quantified by real-time quantitative RT-PCR in 101 patients with HCC and 89 healthy controls. In addition, 48 patients with chronic type B hepatitis were also analyzed for comparison. We found that the median levels of miR-21, miR-122, and miR-223 were significantly higher in patients with HCC than those in healthy controls (P = 7.48 x 10⁻¹³, P = 6.93 x 10⁻⁹, and P = 3.90 x 10⁻¹², respectively). However, these elevated serum miRNAs were also detected in patients with chronic hepatitis (P = 2.05 x 10⁻¹², P = 4.52 x 10⁻¹⁶, and P = 1.65 x 10⁻¹¹, respectively). Moreover, serum miR-21 and miR-122 in patients with chronic hepatitis were higher than in patients with HCC (P = 3.99 x 10⁻⁴ and P = 4.97 x 10⁻⁸), although no such significant difference was found for miR-223. Receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve analyses suggest that these serum miRNAs may be useful markers for discriminating patients with HCC or chronic hepatitis from healthy controls, but not patients with HCC from patients with chronic hepatitis. Our results indicate that serum miR-21, miR-122 and miR-223 are elevated in patients with HCC or chronic hepatitis and these miRNAs have strong potential to serve as novel biomarkers for liver injury but not specifically for HCC.
大量研究表明，异常表达的 microRNA（miRNA）与多种人类癌症的发生和发展有关，血清 miRNA 是潜在的生物标志物。本研究旨在探讨肝癌（HCC）中一些常见失调的 miRNA 是否存在于 HCC 患者的血清中，并能否作为诊断标志物。采用实时定量 RT-PCR 法检测 101 例 HCC 患者和 89 例健康对照者血清中的 miRNA（miR-21、miR-122 和 miR-223）。此外，还对 48 例慢性乙型肝炎患者进行了分析比较。结果发现，与健康对照组相比，HCC 患者血清 miR-21、miR-122 和 miR-223 的中位数水平明显升高（P=7.48×10⁻¹³、P=6.93×10⁻⁹ 和 P=3.90×10⁻¹²）。然而，这些升高的血清 miRNA 也存在于慢性肝炎患者中（P=2.05×10⁻¹²、P=4.52×10⁻¹⁶ 和 P=1.65×10⁻¹¹）。此外，慢性肝炎患者血清 miR-21 和 miR-122 高于 HCC 患者（P=3.99×10⁻⁴ 和 P=4.97×10⁻⁸），而 miR-223 则无显著差异。受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析表明，这些血清 miRNA 可能有助于区分 HCC 或慢性肝炎患者与健康对照者，但不能区分 HCC 患者与慢性肝炎患者。本研究结果表明，HCC 或慢性肝炎患者血清 miR-21、miR-122 和 miR-223 升高，这些 miRNA 具有作为新型肝损伤标志物的巨大潜力，但特异性不强。
