MicroRNA expression differs in cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas and healthy skin of immunocompetent individuals

Abstract

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is one of the most common skin cancers, but the influence of microRNA (miRNA) expression has only been sporadically analysed. We hypothesized that miRNAs are differentially expressed in cSCC and hence influence its development. We therefore isolated total miRNA from well-differentiated cSCCs and from controls without SCC. Expression analyses of 12 miRNAs showed three significantly differentially expressed miRNAs. We identified a significant upregulation of the miR-21 and the miR-31, a proto-oncogene like miR-21. While the upregulated expression of miR-21 has been known for some time, the increased expression of miR-31 was never shown so clearly. Furthermore, we showed the upregulation of miRNA-205, which has never been described before. The miR-205 induces specific keratinocyte migration and could be a characteristic marker for cSCC. It has to be determined in following studies whether these upregulated expressions are specific for cSCC and if so, for which cSCC stages.

MicroRNA-31 Promotes Skin Wound Healing by Enhancing Keratinocyte Proliferation and Migration

“…MiR-31 is overexpressed in epidermal keratinocytes of psoriasis patients, promoting cytokine and chemokine production by keratinocytes and contributes to skin inflammation (Xu et al, 2012). Recently, the increased expression of miR-31 was found in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), and it functions as an oncomiR by increasing the motility and colony forming ability of cancer cells (Bruegger et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2014). Taken together, miR-31 is a multifunctional miRNA playing important roles in both physiological and pathological conditions of epidermal keratinocytes.…”

“…Moreover, the up-regulation of miR-31 has been reported in several skin diseases characterized by excessive keratinocyte proliferation, e.g. psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease sharing many features with wound healing (Morhenn et al, 2013;Xu et al, 2012) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) (Bruegger et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2014). We hypothesize that miR-31 may also play a role during skin wound healing, e.g.…”

MicroRNA-31 Is Overexpressed in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Regulates Cell Motility and Colony Formation Ability of Tumor Cells

“…Induced or acquired immunosuppression after organ transplantation or in patients diagnosed and treated for leukemia are also recognized as significant risk factors for the development of cSCC, and these tumors portend a worse prognosis with twice the risk of developing metastasis compared to immunocompetent patients [4]. Numerous pathways are reported to be involved in cSCC development, including mutation or UVB-induced inactivation of p53, amplification and activating mutations of the Ras oncogene and NF-κB activation [2], [5], but only few studies have investigated the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in this cancer type [6], [7].…”

Systematical Analysis of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Network of microRNAs, Transcription Factors, and Target and Host Genes

“…Hsa-miR-21 and hsa-miR-31 were identified significantly up-regulated. Up-regulation of hsa-miR-205 was newly found as well (Bruegger et al, 2013). Comparing cSCC with healthy skin, miR-31, miR-135b, miR-21, and miR-223 were identified upregulated in cSCC cancerous tissue.…”

“…Comparing cSCC with healthy skin, miR-31, miR-135b, miR-21, and miR-223 were identified upregulated in cSCC cancerous tissue. On the contrary, hsa-miR-375, hsa-miR-125a, hsa-miR-125b, hsa-let-7a, hsa-let-7b, hsa-let-7c, hsa-let-7d, hsa-let-7f, hsa-let-7g, hsa-miR-99a, hsa-miR-99b, hsa-mir-100, hsa-mir-143 and hsa-mir-101 were revealed significantly down-regulated (Bruegger et al, 2013).…”