Signature of miR-21 and MEG-2 and their correlation with TGF-β signaling in breast cancer
EM Desouky, AK Khaliefa, WG Hozayen, SM Shaaban, Nabil A. Hasona
Abstract
Breast cancer is highly prevalent and considered the main challenge to public health among females in Egypt as in other countries. MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) and MEG-2 are noncoding RNA attributed to their aberrant expression in several diseases, including breast cancer. This study aimed to assess the reliability of serum expression levels of miR-21 and MEG-2 in discriminating stages of breast cancer and scrutinize their correlations with the targeted transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) expression. One hundred and 30 participants whose ages ranged from 28 to 62 years were included in this study, divided into one hundred breast cancer patients and 30 healthy participants. miR-21 and TGF-β expression levels showed upregulation in patients with BC and elevated miR-21/TGF-β levels consistent with the BC stage. In addition, LncRNA (MEG-2) showed down-regulation in patients with BC. MEG-2 expression levels revealed a gradual decrease consistent with the BC stage. In addition, a negative relationship between the MEG-2 and the miR-21 and TGF-β differential expression was also noticed. This study suggested that miR-21 and MEG-2 can be used as prospective diagnostic biomarkers and emphasized the crucible role of TGF-β as therapeutic targets for BC.