Expression of MicroRNA-224 in Cholangiocarcinoma and Its Clinicopathological Significance

Xiaolei WANG and Xiaofang LIU

Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, Qingdao University Medical College, China

^*Correspondance to: Xiaofang LIU 

 PDF  Full Text DOI: 10.25107/2474-1647.2094

Abstract

processes. One of the miRNAs, namely miR-224 expression has been found aberrant in a number of human cancers; however, its expression and role in cholangiocarcinoma have not been studied. In the present study, we investigated the difference of miR-224 expression in cholangiocarcinoma and adjacent normal tissues and explored its clinicopathological significance.
Methods: The expressions of miR-224 in 30 cases of cholangiocarcinoma and its adjacent normal tissues were analyzed by RTqPCR. The relationship between miR-224 and clinicopathological data was analyzed by statistical analysis.
Results: The expression levels of miR-224-5p in cholangiocarcinoma were significantly higher than those in adjacent normal tissues (P<0.0001). The expression level of miR-224-5p in cholangiocarcinoma was correlated with the pathophysiological behavior of tumor. That is, the relative expression levels of miR-224-5p in patients with lymph node metastasis were significantly higher than those in patients without lymph node metastasis (P<0.05);The relative expressions of miR-224-5p in stage III and IV patients were significantly higher than those in stage I and II (P <0.05).
Conclusion: MicroRNA-224 is a potential tumor promoter in cholangiocarcinoma, which may regulate the occurrence and development of cholangiocarcinoma and be used as a molecular marker for the diagnosis and treatment of cholangiocarcinoma. Cholangiocarcinoma is a highly invasive malignant tumor derived from cholangiocyte with a high mortality rate in hepatobiliary surgery. In recent decades, its morbidity and mortality have been increasing year by year [1]. Due to the insidious onset, rapid progression, difficulty in diagnosis, insensitivity to conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy, low resection rate, and high recurrence rate, most patients with cholangiocarcinoma were diagnosed at an advanced stage and had lost the opportunity for radical surgery [2]. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find a new molecular marker that can evaluate the progression of cholangiocarcinoma, the prognosis of patients and the possibility of targeted therapy to improve the quality of life or postoperative survival rate. MicroRNA (miRNA) is a non-coding short RNA with a size of about 21-25 nucleotides. It is widely involved in the regulation of various pathological and physiological processes, plays an important role in cell proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and is closely related to the occurrence and progression of tumors [3]. In recent years, a number of studies have shown that a variety of microRNAs are expressed abnormally in cholangiocarcinoma and act as oncogenes or anti-oncogenes [4]. As a subtype of microRNA, miR-224 has been found to have abnormal expression in a variety of malignant tumors and involved in the occurrence or progression of tumors [5,6]. However, there is no report about its expression and its clinical pathological significance in cholangiocarcinoma. Therefore, this study explored the differential expression of miR-224 in cholangiocarcinoma tissue and adjacent tissues and its clinicopathological significance, in order to provide new ideas for the prognosis of cholangiocarcinoma, and new targets for the precision medical treatment.

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Cite the article

WANG X, LIU X. Expression of MicroRNA-224 in Cholangiocarcinoma and Its Clinicopathological Significance. Clin Surg. 2018; 3: 2094.