Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
Institute of Respiratory Diseases, "Policlinico Riuniti" University Hospital of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jun 4;23(11):6294. doi: 10.3390/ijms23116294.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. An aberrant regulation of gene expression by miRNAs is associated with numerous diseases, including cancer. MiRNAs expression can be influenced by various stimuli, among which hypoxia; however, the effects of different types of continuous hypoxia (moderate or marked) on miRNAs are still poorly studied. Lately, some hypoxia-inducible miRNAs (HRMs, hypoxia-regulated miRNAs) have been identified. These HRMs are often activated in different types of cancers, suggesting their role in tumorigenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in miRNAs expression both in moderate continuous hypoxia and marked continuous hypoxia to better understand the possible relationship between hypoxia, miRNAs, and colorectal cancer. We used RT-PCR to detect the miRNAs expression in colorectal cancer cell lines in conditions of moderate and marked continuous hypoxia. The expression of miRNAs was analyzed using a two-way ANOVA test to compare the differential expression of miRNAs among groups. The levels of almost all analyzed miRNAs (miR-21, miR-23b, miR-26a, miR-27b, and miR-145) were greater in moderate hypoxia versus marked hypoxia, except for miR-23b and miR-21. This study identified a series of miRNAs involved in the response to different types of continuous hypoxia (moderate and marked), highlighting that they play a role in the development of cancer. To date, there are no other studies that demonstrate how these two types of continuous hypoxia could be able to activate different molecular pathways that lead to a different expression of specific miRNAs involved in tumorigenesis.
微小 RNA（miRNAs）是一种小的非编码 RNA，可在转录后水平负调控基因表达。miRNA 对基因表达的异常调节与许多疾病有关，包括癌症。miRNA 的表达可以受到多种刺激的影响，其中包括缺氧；然而，不同类型的持续缺氧（中度或重度）对 miRNA 的影响仍研究甚少。最近，已经鉴定出一些缺氧诱导的 miRNA（HRMs，缺氧调节 miRNA）。这些 HRMs 通常在不同类型的癌症中被激活，表明它们在肿瘤发生中的作用。本研究旨在评估中度持续缺氧和重度持续缺氧对 miRNA 表达的变化，以更好地理解缺氧、miRNA 和结直肠癌之间的可能关系。我们使用 RT-PCR 检测结直肠癌细胞系在中度和重度持续缺氧条件下的 miRNA 表达。使用双向 ANOVA 检验分析 miRNA 的表达，以比较各组之间 miRNA 的差异表达。除了 miR-23b 和 miR-21 外，几乎所有分析的 miRNA（miR-21、miR-23b、miR-26a、miR-27b 和 miR-145）在中度缺氧下的表达均高于重度缺氧。本研究鉴定了一系列参与不同类型持续缺氧（中度和重度）反应的 miRNA，强调它们在癌症发展中发挥作用。迄今为止，尚无其他研究表明这两种类型的持续缺氧如何能够激活不同的分子途径，导致参与肿瘤发生的特定 miRNA 的不同表达。
