Evaluation of Changes in miR-7113-3p, miR-6721-5p and MAP2K1 gene expressions in tumor and normal tissues of patients with oral cancer

Backgrounds: Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (OSCC) is one of the most common cancers in the Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer (HNSCC) group. The increasing frequency of oral carcinomas and their late-stage appearance is a major worldwide health concern. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in cancer growth and progression, as the available relevant data indicate. However, no information is available about the part miR-7113-3p and miR-6721-5p takes in OSCC. In the present study, the expression of MAP2K1, miR-7113-3p, and miR-6721-5p was examined to determine their possible biological role in the advancement of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Methods: Quantitative Real-Time PCR was applied to investigate the mRNA expression of MAP2K1, miR-7113-3p, and miR-6721-5p in fresh frozen OSCC tissues and adjacent normal fresh frozen tissues of 30 patients and then, the relationship between MAP2K1 Expression and clinical parameters was studied. Results: MAP2K1 expression dramatically increased in tumor tissues compared to the normal tissues, while miR7113-3p and miR-6721-5p expression significantly decreased. Furthermore, a statistical correlation of p=0.04 was also observed between increased MAP2K1 expression and Perineural invasion. In addition, the downregulation of miR-7113-3p was positively correlated with overexpression of MAP2K1 (p=0.0218) and a negative correlation was observed between downregulation of miR-6721-5p and overexpression of MAP2K1 (p=0.7771). Conclusion: Based on the findings, miR-7113-3p and miR-6721-5p might be prospective biomarkers for OSCC patients, and can be utilized to detect OSCC at an early stage of its diagnosis. MAP2K1 overexpression is linked to the development of OSCC and Perineural invasion

Comparative Analyses of Villin and HER-2 Genes Expression in Breast Cancer

Background: It has been previously demonstrated that HER-2 (human epidermal growth Factor receptor 2) positive breast cancers are associated with an aggressive nature. Villin is an actin bundling protein that plays a key role in actin reorganization and cell remodeling during stress. In this study, we aimed to investigate the correlation of Villin gene expression with HER-2 in breast cancer patients. Methods: Samples of 42 patients with breast cancer, and 3 controls were collected. Expression of Villin and HER-2 genes were monitored with real-time PCR using pre-designed primers. Student T-test was used to compare the means between the groups. Results: The mean age of the patients was 50±4.11years. Expression of the Villin gene was decreased in 28 samples (18 and 10 samples with negative and strongly HER-2 positive, respectively). Villin gene expression was increased in 14 samples (7, 2 and 5 samples with negative, weakly positive, and strongly HER-2 positive, respectively). The expression of Villin was significantly correlated with HER-2 positive status (P = 0.00057) Conclusions: We found that Villin gene expression is associated with HER-2 positivity and may be a predicting factor in aggressive breast cancer

Association of High Expression Levels of SOX2, NANOG, and OCT4 in Gastric Cancer Tumor Tissues with Progression and Poor Prognosis

BACKGROUND: Expression of the essential regulator genes, SOX2, NANOG, and OCT4, so-called as stemness factors, is prerequisite for the tumorigenic capability of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and their potential role in the formation and progression of various human cancers. METHODS: In this study, the expression levels of SOX2, NANOG, and OCT4 were quantified by a qRT-PCR method in 100 gastric cancer tumor tissues vs the paired adjacent normal tissues. Then, the relationship between the expression of the three genes in gastric cancer tumor tissues and the clinicopathological characteristics and overall survival of patients was investigated. RESULTS: Higher expression levels of SOX2, NANOG, and OCT4 were found in gastric cancer tumor tissues compared with those in paired adjacent normal tissues (P = 0.0001). Overexpression of the mentioned genes in gastric cancer tumor tissues was resolved to be significantly associated with tumor size (P < 0.05), TNM stage (P = 0.001), tumor grade (P < 0.01), and shortened overall survival time (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicted that the stemness factors SOX2, NANOG, and OCT4 are significantly overexpressed in gastric cancer and may serve as potential biomarkers of gastric cancer progression and prognosis