Mette Winther1, Jan Alsner2, Brita Singers Sørensen2, Catja F Wittrup2, Trine Tramm3, Lene Baeksgaard4, Kenneth Hofland4, Eva Holtved5, Marianne Nordsmark6. 1. Department of Experimental Clinical Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark mette@oncology.au.dk. 2. Department of Experimental Clinical Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark. 3. Department of Pathology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark. 4. Department of Oncology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. 5. Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark. 6. Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM: The present study aimed to identify hypoxia-regulated microRNAs (HRMs) in vitro and investigate the clinical role of candidate HRMs in patients with gastroesophageal cancer (GEC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: microRNA expression changes induced by hypoxia in human GEC cell lines were measured with microarrays and validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Candidate HRMs were measured in pre-therapeutic tumor samples from 195 patients with GEC. RESULTS: Expression of miR-210 was shown to be significantly induced in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (9.26-fold, p<0.001) and adenocarcinoma cell lines (4.95-fold, p<0.001) and miR-27a-star was significantly up-regulated in adenocarcinoma cell lines (4.79-fold, p=0.04). A weak but significant correlation between miR-210 expression and a 15-gene hypoxia signature was observed (Pearson r correlation: r=0.38, p<0.001). No significant associations of HRMs and clinical outcome in patients with GEC were identified. CONCLUSION: This study supports the involvement of hypoxia on miRNAs in vitro and confirms the role of miR-210 as being a universal HRM. Copyright
BACKGROUND/AIM: The present study aimed to identify hypoxia-regulated microRNAs (HRMs) in vitro and investigate the clinical role of candidate HRMs in patients with gastroesophageal cancer (GEC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: microRNA expression changes induced by hypoxia in human GEC cell lines were measured with microarrays and validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Candidate HRMs were measured in pre-therapeutic tumor samples from 195 patients with GEC. RESULTS: Expression of miR-210 was shown to be significantly induced in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (9.26-fold, p<0.001) and adenocarcinoma cell lines (4.95-fold, p<0.001) and miR-27a-star was significantly up-regulated in adenocarcinoma cell lines (4.79-fold, p=0.04). A weak but significant correlation between miR-210 expression and a 15-gene hypoxia signature was observed (Pearson r correlation: r=0.38, p<0.001). No significant associations of HRMs and clinical outcome in patients with GEC were identified. CONCLUSION: This study supports the involvement of hypoxia on miRNAs in vitro and confirms the role of miR-210 as being a universal HRM. Copyright