Dysregulation of microRNA in cholangiocarcinoma identified through a meta-analysis of microRNA profiling.
cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) patients
meta-analysis of pooled miRNA microarray data
differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs in CCA vs. normal tissues
identification of dysregulated miRNAs and their target genes involved in cancer pathways
Abstract
In the past decades, the potential of microRNA (miRNA) in cancer diagnostics and prognostics has gained a lot of interests. In this study, a meta-analysis was conducted upon the pooled miRNA microarray data of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). To identify differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs and perform functional analyses in order to gain insights to understanding miRNA-target interactions involved in tumorigenesis pathways of CCA. Raw data from 8 CCA miRNA microarray datasets, consisting of 443 samples in total, were integrated and statistically analyzed to identify DE miRNAs Our data showed 70 up-regulated and 48 down-regulated miRNAs in CCA. Gene Ontology and pathway enrichment analyses revealed that mRNA targets of DE miRNAs were significantly involved in several biological processes. The most prominent dysregulated pathways included phosphatidylinositol-3 kinases/Akt, mitogen-activated protein kinase and Ras signaling pathways. DE miRNAs found in our meta-analysis revealed dysregulation in major cancer pathways involved in the development of CCA. These results indicated the necessity of understanding the miRNA-target interactions and the significance of dysregulated miRNAs in terms of diagnostics and prognostics of cancers.