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. 2020 May 1;20(2):197-208.
doi: 10.17305/bjbms.2019.4271.

A preliminary study of microRNA expression in different types of primary melanoma

Ioana Gencia  1 , Flavia Baderca  2 , Stefania Avram  1 , Armand Gogulescu  3 , Anca Marcu  4 , Edward Seclaman  4 , Catalin Marian  4 , Caius Solovan  1
Affiliations

A preliminary study of microRNA expression in different types of primary melanoma

Ioana Gencia et al. Bosn J Basic Med Sci. .

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been proven to regulate the development and progression of cancer through various mechanisms. The aim of the present study was to compare miRNA expression between primary melanomas from different sites. We analyzed the expression of 84 miRNAs in 27 primary melanoma and 5 nevus formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples using the Human Cancer PathwayFinder miScript miRNA PCR Array. The FFPE samples were obtained from the archives of the Municipal Clinical Emergency Hospital of Timisoara and included 10 cutaneous melanomas, 10 uveal melanomas, 7 mucosal melanomas, and 5 cutaneous nevi. Out of 84 miRNAs, 11 miRNAs showed altered expression in all types of melanoma compared with the nevi. Among these, miR-155-5p, miR-9-5p, miR-142-5p, miR-19a-3p, miR-134-5p, and miR-301a-3p were upregulated, while miR-205-5p, miR-203a-3p, miR-27b-3p, miR-218-5p, and miR-23b-3p were downregulated. The highest similarity in miRNA expression pattern was found between uveal and mucosal melanoma groups, i.e., 15 miRNAs had altered expression in both groups. Overall, we identified several miRNAs with significantly altered expression in primary melanomas, including those reported for the first time in this type of cancer. Among them, mir-9-5p, mir-203a-3p, mir-19a-3p, mir-27b-3p, and mir-218-5p showed altered expression in all three melanoma types vs. nevi. Further research should explore the potential of these miRNAs in melanoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interests

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Volcano plot representing the microRNAs (miRNAs) in cutaneous melanomas compared with cutaneous nevi. Upregulated (yellow) and downregulated (blue) miRNAs with a fold change >2 vs. nevi, and miRNAs that were not significantly differently expressed (black, fold change <2 vs. nevi).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Volcano plot representing the microRNAs (miRNAs) in uveal melanomas compared with cutaneous nevi. Upregulated (yellow) and downregulated (blue) miRNAs with a fold change >2 vs. nevi, and miRNAs that were not significantly differently expressed (black, fold change <2 vs. nevi).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Volcano plot representing the microRNAs (miRNAs) in mucosal melanomas compared with cutaneous nevi. Upregulated (yellow) and downregulated (blue) miRNAs with a fold change >2 vs. nevi, and miRNAs that were not significantly differently expressed (black, fold change <2 vs. nevi).
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Cluster analysis of the changes in microRNA (miRNA) expression in 4 analyzed groups (cutaneous nevi, cutaneous melanoma, uveal melanoma, and mucosal melanoma). The samples (the top of the figure) clustered together for each melanoma type and for nevi, showing similar RNA expression patterns (the right of the figure) in all three repetitions of miRNA expression analysis.
FIGURE S1
FIGURE S1
The Qiagen Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) in cutaneous melanoma (n = 10)
FIGURE S2
FIGURE S2
The Qiagen Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) in mucosal melanoma (n = 7)
FIGURE S3
FIGURE S3
The Qiagen Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) in uveal melanoma (n = 10)
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