Serum circulating microRNA profiling for identification of potential breast cancer biomarkers

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Mar-Aguilar, Fermín | Mendoza-Ramírez, Jorge A. | Malagón-Santiago, Ismael | Espino-Silva, Perla K. | Santuario-Facio, Sandra K. | Ruiz-Flores, Pablo | Rodríguez-Padilla, Cristina | Reséndez-Pérez, Diana^;

Affiliations: Departamento de Biología Celular y Genética, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, México, México | Departamento de Inmunología y Virología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, México, México | Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, México, México | Departamento de Genética y Medicina Molecular, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Torreón, Coahuila, México

Note: [] Corresponding author: Dr. Diana Reséndez-Pérez, Departamento de Biología Celular y Genética, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Av. Manuel Barragan y Pedro de Alba s/n, Cd Universitaria, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, CP. 66451, México. Tel.: +52 81 8329 4000 ext. 2926; Fax: +52 81 8352 4212; E-mail: diana.resendezpr@uanl.edu.mx

Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small, non-coding RNA molecules that can regulate gene expression, thereby affecting crucial processes in cancer development. miRNAs offer great potential as biomarkers for cancer detection because of their remarkable stability in blood and their characteristic expression in different diseases. We investigated whether quantitative RT-PCR miRNA profiling on serum could discriminate between breast cancer patients and healthy controls. We performed miRNA profiling on serum from breast cancer patients, followed by construction of ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curves to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the assay. We found that seven miRNAs (miR-10b, miR-21, miR-125b, miR-145, miR-155 miR-191 and miR-382) had different expression patterns in serum of breast cancer patients compared to healthy controls. ROC curve analyses revealed that three serum miRNAs could be valuable biomarkers for distinguishing BC from normal controls. Additionally, a combination of ROC curve analyses of miR-145, miR-155 and miR-382 showed better sensitivity and specificity of our assay. miRNA profiling in serum has potential as a novel method for breast cancer detection in the Mexican population.

Keywords: Breast cancer, miRNAs, biomarkers, serum, miR-382

DOI: 10.3233/DMA-120957

Journal: Disease Markers, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 163-169, 2013