Expression and clinicopathological significance of microRNA-21 and programmed cell death 4 in malignant melanoma

Abstract

Objective: To measure levels of microRNA (miR)-21 and its target gene, programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4), in samples of human cutaneous malignant melanoma and normal non-malignant control skin. Methods: Relative levels of miR-21 and PDCD4 mRNA were measured using a quantitative realtime reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Correlations between the levels of the two molecules and the clinicopathological characteristics of malignant melanoma were analysed. Results: A total of 67 cases of human cutaneous malignant melanoma were analysed and compared with 67 samples of normal nonmalignant control skin. Compared with normal skin samples, the relative level of miR-21 was significantly higher and the relative level of PDCD4 mRNA was significantly lower in the melanoma specimens. A significant negative correlation between PDCD4 mRNA and miR-21 was demonstrated in malignant melanoma (r ¼ À0.602). Elevated miR-21 and reduced PDCD4 mRNA levels were both significantly correlated with increased tumour size, a higher Clark classification level and the presence of lymph node metastases in malignant melanoma. Conclusions: These findings suggest that miR-21 and PDCD4 might be potential biomarkers for malignant melanoma and might provide treatment targets in the future.

Comparative oncogenomics identifies tyrosine kinase FES as a tumor suppressor in melanoma

“…= 5.5 × 10 ). IPA also indicated that the majority of these genes (23 out of 30, 76%) have multiple biological functional connections, indicating that this list is enriched for alterations/ mutations affecting functionally interacting proteins (Supplemental Figure 6 and Supplemental (35) and PDCD4 (36) in human melanoma have also been described. Interestingly, one of these genes was the well-established negative regulator of the Hh signaling pathway, Sufu.…”

Importance of microRNAs in Skin Oncogenesis and Their Suitability as Agents and Targets for Topical Therapy

“…Furthermore, plasma miR-21 was reported to be associated with the tumor burden of melanoma patients [66]. Functional analysis showed that miR-21 targets SPRY1, PDCD4, and PTEN; regulates the ERK/NF-κB signaling pathway; and affects proliferation, migration, and apoptosis [67][68][69]. In addition, miR-21 increases melanoma invasiveness by targeting MMP3 [70].…”

New Insight into microRNA Functions in Cancer: Oncogene–microRNA–Tumor Suppressor Gene Network

“…(2) One miRNA can target multiple mRNAs, thence, one miRNA has different functions. For example, miR-21 affected cell survival by targeting PCPD4 (programmed cell death protein 4) (Jiao et al, 2015), regulated cell proliferation by targeting PTEN (Zhang et al, 2010), and meanwhile was involved in cancer metastasis by targeting Maspin (Zhu et al, 2008). Sometimes, opposite functions were observed for one miRNA in diverse cases, because it targeted different mRNAs in specific cell types or cell states.…”