Exosomal MicroRNA -142-5p in Serum is a Prognostic Factor in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Purpose: Exosomal microRNAs in tumor microenvironment can have a significant impact on the plasticity of cancer cells leading to the promotion of metastasis and angiogenesis. MicroRNAs expressed in tumor cells, fibroblasts, immune cells, and endothelial cells are known to target mRNAs in origin cells to promote tumor growth and metastasis, and induce changes in cell phenotype and expression and secretion of cytokines. MicroRNA expression patterns, which change depending on the tumor type, provide clues that can serve as a biological marker for diagnosis, determining the outcome of the disease, and treatment responses. However, there has been no definitive study on the relationship between exosomal microRNAs and prognosis in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Here, we studied the association between prognosis of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma patients and microRNAs detected in blood serum. Patients and methods: We enrolled 43 patients with various stages of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Blood samples from patients were obtained and serum was separated by the using centrifuge. microRNAs were purified from serum exosomes, and microRNA sequencing was performed. The microRNA expression profiles and copy number variations of 43 serum samples were obtained using next-generation sequencing (Hiseq, Illumina). We analyzed the relationship between the microRNA changes and patient prognosis. Results: miR-142a-5p cluster expression levels in serum exosomes were most correlated with the poor prognosis of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Exosomal miR-142-5p expression levels in serum were significantly higher (P< 0.01) in patients with late-stage disease than in those with early-stage disease. In addition, patients with recurrent tumors showed high levels of miR-142-5p. Conclusion: miR-142-5p expression level may be an essential marker for predicting patient prognosis and to help decide whether to undergo additional systemic chemotherapy after surgery. secretes exosomes containing miRNAs and transmits signals to their respective receiving cells. Our results show that the serum miRNA-142-5p cluster could be a potential biomarker for predicting the recurrence of cutaneous cell carcinoma. The TNM stage is typically already 3 or higher when lymphatic metastasis occurs. However, despite recurrence, no lymph node metastasis was observed at the time of diagnosis. An analysis of the serum external miRNA expression profile in this study showed that four serum exosomal miRNAs (miRNA-106a-3p, miRNA-10a-3p, miR-142-5p, miRNA-192a-5p) were adjusted to match cutaneous cell carcinoma progression. Among them, only miRNA-142-5p was found to be statistically related to overall survival. MiRNAs predictive ability