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. 2020 Apr 26;13(1):47.
doi: 10.1186/s13048-020-00648-1.

Serum exosomal microRNA-34a as a potential biomarker in epithelial ovarian cancer

Kazuya Maeda  1 , Hiroshi Sasaki  2 , Shoko Ueda  2 , Shunsuke Miyamoto  2 , Shinichi Terada  2 , Hiromi Konishi  2 , Yuhei Kogata  2 , Keisuke Ashihara  2 , Satoe Fujiwara  2 , Yoshimichi Tanaka  2 , Tomohito Tanaka  2 , Masami Hayashi  2 , Yuko Ito  3 , Yoichi Kondo  3 , Takahiro Ochiya  4 , Masahide Ohmichi  2
Affiliations

Serum exosomal microRNA-34a as a potential biomarker in epithelial ovarian cancer

Kazuya Maeda et al. J Ovarian Res. .

Abstract

Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death in women, and thus an accurate diagnosis of the predisposition and its early detection is necessary. The aims of this study were to determine whether serum exosomal microRNA-34a (miR-34a) in ovarian cancer could be used as a potential biomarker.

Methods: Exosomes from OC patients' serum were collected, and exosomal miRNAs were extracted. The relative expression of miR-34a was calculated from 58 OC samples by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Results: Serum exosomal miR-34a levels were significantly increased in early-stage OC patients compared with advanced-stage patients. Its levels were significantly lower in patients with lymph node metastasis than in those with no lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, its levels in the recurrence group were significantly lower than those in the recurrence-free group.

Conclusions: Serum exosomal miR-34a could be a potential biomarker for improving the diagnostic efficiency of OC.

Keywords: Biomarker; Ovarian cancer; Serum exosome; miR-34a.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Verification of exosomes. a Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the clusters isolated from serum were round or oval membrane vesicles largely between 30 and 100 nm in size and were homogeneous in appearance. b Western blotting revealed that the specific exosomal protein marker CD63 was expressed in isolated serum exosomal pellets as specific bands
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a The relative expression of miR-34a in early-stage OC patients (stage I or II) was significantly higher than that in advanced-stage patients (stage III or IV). b The serum exosomal miR-34a level was significantly lower in patients with lymph node metastasis than in those with no lymph node metastasis
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The relative level of miR-34a in the recurrence-free group was significantly higher than that in the recurrence group
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
a In serous carcinoma, the relative level of miR-34a showed no significant difference between the early-stage OC group and the advanced-stage OC group. b In non-serous carcinoma, the relative level of miR-34a in the early-stage OC group was significantly higher than that in the advanced-stage OC group. c In clear cell carcinoma, the relative level of miR-34a in the early-stage OC group was significantly higher than that in the advanced-stage OC group
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
There was no correlation between the relative serum exosomal miR-34a level and the serum CA125 level
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
a The relative level of tissue miR-34a in clear cell carcinoma was significantly higher than that in serous carcinoma or mucinous carcinoma. b The relative miR-34a level in clear cell carcinoma RMG-1 cells was significantly higher than that in CAOV3 (mucinous carcinoma) or A2780 (serous carcinoma) cells
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