Plasma EBV miRNA Profiles Reveal Potential Biomarkers for Clinical Prognosis of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome-related Lymphoma

Abstract

Background Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome-related lymphoma (ARL) is closely related to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. However, there are few studies on the occurrence and development of EBV miRNAs in ARL patients.Methods The plasma of 5 EBV-infected ARL patients and 8 EBV-infected HIV patients were screened for EBV miRNAs differentially expressed between the two groups through EBV microRNA quantification chip. The plasma of 35 EBV-infected ARL patients and 20 EBV-infected HIV patients was verified by qRT-PCR expanded samples. And we gave a further analysis of the correlation between differentially expressed EBV miRNAs and clinical prognosis indicators in ARL patients.Results 1. There were differential expressions of EBV miRNAs in the plasma of EBV-infected ARL patients and EBV-infected HIV patients. It was found that EBV-miR-BART2-5p,EBV-miR-BART8-3p,EBV-miR-BART15, EBV-miR-BART19-5p expression was significantly up-regulated and EBV-miR-BART9-5p expression was significantly down-regulated; 2. EBV microRNAs with significantly different expressions in the screening results were expanded and verified by qRT-PCR, and the differential expression was found to be consistent with the screening results; 3. The relative expression levels of EBV-miR-BART8-3p in plasma were positive correlated with the International Prognostic Index (IPI) score of Lymphoma(r = 0.37,P = 0.03),EBV-miR-BART19-5p was positive correlated with B symptoms (r = 0.42,P = 0.01) and EBV-miR-BART9-5p, was positive correlated with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scores (r = 0.35,P = 0.04).Conclusions The expression of EBV-miR-BART2-5p, EBV-miR-BART8-3p, EBV-miR-BART15,EBV-miR-BART19-5p,EBV-miR-BART9-5p in ARL patients were highly different; and EBV-miR-BART8-3p, EBV-miR-BART19-5p, EBV-miR-BART9-5p could be used as the biomarkers for the prognosis of ARL.