Mir-23a and mir-181b serum levels in irritable bowel syndrome and colorectal cancer – A pilot study

Abstract

An emerging evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) may be reliable biomarkers for inflammation or oncogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of miR-23a and miR-181b in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) vs. healthy controls. Forty patients with IBS (29 females, 11 males), 33 patients with CRC (14 females, 19 males), and 33 healthy controls (17 females, 16 males) were prospectively included. Serum levels of miRNAs were evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription PCR. MiR-23a and miR-181b had significantly higher serum levels (p = 0.0009 and p = 0.004, respectively) in IBS patients than in controls. Serum levels of miR-23a and miR-181b in CRC patients were also significantly higher than in controls (p = 0.002 and p = 0.029, respectively). The levels of miR-23a and miR-181b in CRC vs. IBS patients suggested a trend of overexpression in patients with CRC, however, without statistical significance (p = 0.169 and p = 0.179, respectively). miRNet and Reactome database showed phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) to be a major common pathway, suggesting inflammation as a central mechanism. MiRNAs may serve as reliable biomarkers in clinical practice, but further studies are necessary to establish a cut-off limit for specific miRNAs in different diseases.

Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome and its association with colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Cancers were most commonly identified in patients with IBS-D and IBS-U subtypes. Chira et al 29 identified a statistically significant difference in miRNA-181b between patients with IBS-D (higher) and IBS-C and IBS-M. The levels of miRNA-181b and miR-32a were higher in IBS-D when compared to other groups, but the difference did not reach statistical significance.…”

“…They are not thought to be involved in IBS. 29 Only six studies provided sufficient data to compare the risk of CRC between the IBS subtypes. As the sample sizes were small and some studies did not identify malignancies in specific IBS subtypes, a comprehensive comparison between the groups was not possible.…”

MicroRNAs in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Its Complications

“…In serum studies, proinflammatory miRs-23a and -181b are upregulated in IBS patients compared to healthy controls [ 88 ]. Moreover, miRs-150 and -342-3p were also found upregulated in IBS patients [ 89 ].…”

New Circulating Circular RNAs with Diagnostic and Prognostic Potential in Advanced Colorectal Cancer

“…We explored the correlation between hsa_circ_00001445 and hsa_circ_00007915 levels and their respective sponge target microRNAs-miR-181b and miR-106a. These miRNAs, in contrast to the circRNAs that are the focus of our study, have been previously examined in a number of studies in relation to CRC prognosis and diagnostics using plasma or serum samples [30][31][32][33][34][35][36].…”