Researchers may have uncovered a new non-small cell lung cancer biomarker

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the major subtype of lung cancer, and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is the major and well-studied gene that can transform a cell into a tumor cell in NSCLC. Therefore, exploring EGFR-related molecules might lead to the discovery of novel therapeutic targets for NSCLC therapy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), which are single-stranded molecules of RNA corresponding to gene sequences, have been shown to play a key role in the progression and development of NSCLC. By combining these knowledge, researchers from The Fourth People Hospital of Zibo, Zibo Lianchi Women and Infants Hospital, and Zibo Central Hospital aimed to investigate the clinical significance of a certain microRNA – miR-4429 in NSCLC and its link to the EGFR change.

According to the findings, miR-4429 can bind to EGFR directly. In NSCLC patients, serum miR-4429 levels were lower and serum EGFR mRNA levels were higher, with serum miR-4429 levels correlating to serum EGFR mRNA levels. Additionally, miR-4429 was identified as a diagnostic and a prognostic biomarker in NSCLC patients using several analysis methods. Furthermore, miR-4429 was reduced in EGFR changed or mutant-type patients, and further analysis revealed that it had some screening potential for these patients.

Findings suggest that miR-4429 binds directly to EGFR, leading to a potential role of miR-4429 in NSCLC, as well as the possibility that lowly expressed miR-4429 in NSCLC might be a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for the disease and is linked to EGFR mutation. This research might lead to the development of a novel and useful biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of NSCLC patients, where the approach of increasing miR-4429 might be a potential therapeutic strategy.

非小細胞肺癌 (NSCLC) 是肺癌的主要亞型,表皮生長因子受體 (EGFR) 是 NSCLC 中可將細胞轉化為腫瘤細胞的主要且研究充分的基因。因此,探索 EGFR 相關分子可能會導致發現用於 NSCLC 治療的新治療靶點。微小RNA(miRNA)是與基因序列相對應的單鏈RNA分子,已被證明在NSCLC的進展和發展中起關鍵作用。結合這些知識,淄博市第四人民醫院、淄博聯池婦嬰醫院和淄博市中心醫院的研究人員旨在研究某種microRNA-miR-4429在NSCLC中的臨床意義及其與EGFR變化的聯繫。

根據研究結果,miR-4429可以直接與EGFR結合。在 NSCLC 患者中,血清 miR-4429 水平較低,血清 EGFR mRNA 水平較高,血清 miR-4429 水平與血清 EGFR mRNA 水平相關。此外,使用多種分析方法將 miR-4429 確定為 NSCLC 患者的診斷和預後生物標誌物。此外,miR-4429 在 EGFR 改變或突變型患者中減少,進一步分析表明它對這些患者俱有一定的篩選潛力。

研究結果表明,miR-4429 直接與 EGFR 結合,導致 miR-4429 在 NSCLC 中的潛在作用,以及 miR-4429 在 NSCLC 中低表達的可能性可能是該疾病的診斷和預後生物標誌物,並與EGFR突變。這項研究可能會導致開發一種用於診斷和預後非小細胞肺癌患者的新型有用的生物標誌物,其中增加 miR-4429 的方法可能是一種潛在的治療策略。

 

Reference: Ruan M, Sun L, Qiu W, Dong Y, Fang C, Cui H, Rong J. Dysregulated circulating miR-4429 serves as a novel non-invasive biomarker and is correlated with EGFR mutation in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Bosn J of Basic Med Sci [Internet]. 2022Feb.15 [cited 2022Apr.24];. Available from: https://www.bjbms.org/ojs/index.php/bjbms/article/view/6450

Editor: Merima Bukva, MPharm

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