Feiersinger Fabian, Nolte Elke, Wach Sven, Rau Tilman T, Vassos Nikolaos, Geppert Carol, Konrad Andreas, Merkel Susanne, Taubert Helge, Stürzl Michael, Croner Roland S
Division of Molecular & Experimental Surgery, Clinic of Surgery, Friedrich-Alexander- Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 12, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.
Clinic of Urology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Krankenhausstr. 12, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.
PLoS One. 2016 Feb 4;11(2):e0148580. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148580. eCollection 2016.
Metastasis is the major cause of death in colorectal cancer patients. Expression of certain miRNAs in the primary tumors has been shown to be associated with progression of colorectal cancer and the initiation of metastasis. In this study, we compared miRNA expression in primary colorectal cancer and corresponding liver metastases in order to get an idea of the oncogenic importance of the miRNAs in established metastases.
We analyzed the expression of miRNA-21, miRNA-31 and miRNA-373 in corresponding formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples of primary colorectal cancer, liver metastasis and healthy tissues of 29 patients by quantitative real-time PCR.
All three miRNAs were significantly up-regulated in the primary tumor tissues as compared to healthy colon mucosa of the respective patients (p < 0.01). MiRNA-21 and miRNA-31 were also higher expressed in liver metastases as compared to healthy liver tissues (p < 0.01). No significant difference of expression of miRNA-31 and miRNA-373 was observed between primary tumors and metastases. Of note, miRNA-21 expression was significantly reduced in liver metastases as compared to the primary colorectal tumors (p < 0.01).
In the context of previous studies demonstrating increased miRNA-21 expression in metastatic primary tumors, our findings raise the question whether miRNA-21 might be involved in the initiation but not in the perpetuation and growth of metastases.
转移是结直肠癌患者死亡的主要原因。已表明原发性肿瘤中某些微小RNA（miRNA）的表达与结直肠癌的进展及转移的起始相关。在本研究中，我们比较了原发性结直肠癌及其相应肝转移灶中的miRNA表达，以便了解miRNA在已形成的转移灶中的致癌重要性。
我们通过定量实时聚合酶链反应分析了29例患者的原发性结直肠癌、肝转移灶及健康组织的相应福尔马林固定石蜡包埋（FFPE）组织样本中miRNA-21、miRNA-31和miRNA-373的表达。
与各患者的健康结肠黏膜相比，所有这三种miRNA在原发性肿瘤组织中均显著上调（p < 0.01）。与健康肝脏组织相比，miRNA-21和miRNA-31在肝转移灶中的表达也更高（p < 0.01）。在原发性肿瘤和转移灶之间未观察到miRNA-31和miRNA-373表达的显著差异。值得注意的是，与原发性结直肠癌相比，miRNA-21在肝转移灶中的表达显著降低（p < 0.01）。
在先前研究表明转移性原发性肿瘤中miRNA-21表达增加的背景下，我们的研究结果提出了一个问题，即miRNA-21是否可能参与转移的起始，但不参与转移的持续和生长。
