2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer (Posters)-P1.24. A Comparative Analysis of Secreted MiRNAs Reveals Candidate Biomarkers for Pleural Mesothelioma Detection

Pdf Summary

Researchers conducted a study to explore the microRNAs secreted by pleural mesothelioma (PM) cells and their potential as biomarkers and treatment targets. They established primary cell cultures from the pleural effusion of PM and non-PM patients and analyzed the expression of secreted miRNAs in cell culture supernatant and exosomes, as well as in the matching primary cells. The study found that the expression patterns of up-regulated microRNAs differed between PM and non-PM samples, suggesting different regulatory mechanisms. The expression of these microRNAs was also associated with the histological subtype and severity of PM cells. The researchers identified differentially expressed miRNAs in PM and non-PM samples in exosomes and supernatant, indicating a selective mechanism of microRNA secretion by PM cells. They focused on nine up-regulated microRNAs for further analysis.<br /><br />The study also investigated the association between exosomal expression of the nine microRNAs and patient clinical features. Cox survival analysis revealed that most microRNAs were associated with higher hazard, suggesting their pro-oncogenic activity. miR-7110-5p was found to be significant, but further verification is needed. The expression of the nine microRNAs was also associated with histological subtype, indicating their enrichment in more invasive tumors. The study predicted candidate target genes for the microRNAs and found significant enrichment of hallmarks of cancer, including epithelial-mesenchymal transition, inflammatory response, and pathways activated by up-regulation of KRAS.<br /><br />In conclusion, the study identified nine microRNAs as potential biomarkers for PM. Their expression was associated with patient clinical features, highlighting their diagnostic and prognostic potential. The differential enrichment of microRNAs in different compartments suggests selective packaging into exosomes and varied regulation in primary cells. The microRNAs were also associated with hallmarks of cancer associated with more aggressive disease, indicating their potential role in promoting a more invasive phenotype. These findings suggest the potential of PM-secreted microRNAs as novel therapeutic targets. Validation of these results is ongoing. The study was conducted by the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the University Hospital Zurich and was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Stiftung für Angewandte Krebsforschung.

Asset Subtitle

Agnieszka Kraft

Meta Tag

Speaker Agnieszka Kraft

Topic Pathology & Biomarkers: Prognostic Biomarkers

Keywords

microRNAs

pleural mesothelioma

biomarkers

cell cultures

histological subtype

patient clinical features

pro-oncogenic activity

hallmarks of cancer

therapeutic targets

validation