MicroRNA expression profiles in muscle-invasive bladder cancer: identification of a four-microRNA signature associated with patient survival

Abstract

Bladder cancer ranks the second most common genitourinary tract cancer, and muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) accounts for approximately 25 % of all bladder cancer cases with high mortality. In the current study, with a total of 202 treatment-naïve primary MIBC patients identified from The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset, we comprehensively analyzed the genome-wide microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles in MIBC, with the aim to investigate the relationship of miRNA expression with the progression and prognosis of MIBC, and generate a miRNA signature of prognostic capabilities. In the progression-related miRNA profiles, a total of 47, 16, 3, and 84 miRNAs were selected for pathologic T, N, M, and histologic grade, respectively. Of the eight most important progression-related miRNAs, four (let-7c, mir-125b-1, mir-193a, and mir-99a) were significantly associated with survival of patients with MIBC. Finally, a four-miRNA signature was generated and proven as a promising prognostic parameter. In summary, this study identified the specific miRNAs associated with the progression and aggressiveness of MIBC and a four-miRNA signature as a promising prognostic parameter of MIBC.

Comprehensive analysis of aberrantly expressed profiles of lncRNAs and miRNAs with associated ceRNA network in muscle-invasive bladder cancer

“…Based on TCGA, a similar work has been done by Dr. Zheng Xu and his colleagues. They screened some potential miRNAs that associated with the progression of muscle-invasive bladder cancer [37]. However, no comparison was made between tumor tissues and normal tissues, nor were miRNAs combined with lncRNAs, coding genes or other types of bioactive molecules.…”

Expression of urinary miRNAs targeting NLRs inflammasomes in bladder cancer

“…For example, a miR-9, miR-182 and miR-200b signature was demonstrated to correlate with tumor aggressiveness in muscle invasive BC 18. Similar tumor features have been associated with four miRNAs signature (let-7c, miR-125b-1, miR-193a and miR-99a) 19. MiRNAs exert a transcriptional regulation on NRLP3 inflammasome, and their crucial role in modulating inflammasome activity has been widely estabilished 20.…”

Comprehensive investigation of aberrant microRNA profiling in bladder cancer tissues

“…Moreover, miR-99a-5p was also decreased in plasma and urine supernatants of bladder cancer patients [24,26,27]. Besides the diagnostic value, miR99a-5p was a predictive marker of OS of bladder cancer by both of studies based on clinical samples and TCGA resource [17,28]. Meanwhile, enforced expression of miR-99a-5p could inhibit the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of bladder cancer cells [26,29] and miR99a-5p is likely to directly target fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 in bladder cancer [29].…”