Volume 13, Issue 4 (Vol.13 No.4 Jan 2025)                   rbmb.net 2025, 13(4): 456-465 | Back to browse issues page

XML Print


Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:

Seyedhoseini S, Mohtasham N, Saghafi S, Alahkhani N, Mohajertehran F, Afzaljavan F, et al . miR-let-7a Differential Expression in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Oral Lichen Planus: Insights for Early Diagnostic Biomarker Development. rbmb.net 2025; 13 (4) :456-465
URL: http://rbmb.net/article-1-1454-en.html
Dental Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Abstract:   (330 Views)
Background: Early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is essential for improving treatment outcomes. Oral lichen planus (OLP) is recognized as a premalignant condition that may progress to OSCC. Recently, microRNAs, particularly miR-let-7a, have emerged as promising biomarkers for gene regulation and early disease diagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate the expression level of miR-let-7a in OSCC and OLP patients, and to compare it with healthy controls, to determine its potential as an early diagnostic marker.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, serum samples were collected from 36 OSCC patients, 38 OLP patients, and 38 healthy controls. Diagnosis of OSCC and OLP was confirmed via biopsy. Serum RNA was isolated, and after quality verification, cDNA was synthesized. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to assess miR-let-7a expression across the three groups. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS version 16.0.

Results: Significant differences in miR-let-7a expression were observed among the groups. Mean expression levels of miR-let-7a were 1.55 ± 1.19 in OSCC, 2.97 ± 2.00 in OLP, and 7.02 ± 4.10 in the control group (p< 0.001). Lower miR-let-7a expression in OSCC was notably correlated with adverse clinicopathological features, including higher tumor grade (p < 0.001), advanced clinical stage (p= 0.011), larger tumor size (T2) (p< 0.0001), and lymph node involvement (p< 0.0001).

Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that miR-let-7a expression is significantly reduced in OSCC and OLP patients compared to healthy controls, highlighting its potential as an early biomarker for detecting malignant transformation in oral lesions and understanding disease progression in OSCC and OLP.
Full-Text [PDF 250 kb]   (86 Downloads)    
Type of Article: Original Article | Subject: Molecular Biology
Received: 2024/08/13 | Accepted: 2025/04/12 | Published: 2025/07/30

References
1. Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Laversanne M, Soerjomataram I, Jemal A, et al. Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians. 2021;71(3):209-49. [DOI:10.3322/caac.21660] [PMID]
2. Montero PH, Patel SG. Cancer of the oral cavity. Surgical Oncology Clinics. 2015;24(3):491-508. [DOI:10.1016/j.soc.2015.03.006] [PMID] []
3. Nocini R, Lippi G, Mattiuzzi C. Biological and epidemiologic updates on lip and oral cavity cancers. Annals of Cancer Epidemiology. 2020;4. [DOI:10.21037/ace.2020.01.01]
4. Goldoni R, Scolaro A, Boccalari E, Dolci C, Scarano A, Inchingolo F, et al. Malignancies and biosensors: A focus on oral cancer detection through salivary biomarkers. Biosensors. 2021;11(10):396. [DOI:10.3390/bios11100396] [PMID] []
5. Zhang Y, zhu L, Wang R, Miao L, Jiang H, Yuan H, et al. Genetic variants in let-7/Lin28 modulate the risk of oral cavity cancer in a Chinese Han Population. Scientific Reports. 2014;4(1):7434. [DOI:10.1038/srep07434] [PMID] []
6. Olson MA, Rogers III RS, Bruce AJ. Oral lichen planus. Clinics in dermatology. 2016;34(4):495-504. [DOI:10.1016/j.clindermatol.2016.02.023] [PMID]
7. Van der Waal I. Potentially malignant disorders of the oral and oropharyngeal mucosa; terminology, classification and present concepts of management. Oral oncology. 2009;45(4-5):317-23. [DOI:10.1016/j.oraloncology.2008.05.016] [PMID]
8. Chitturi RT, Sindhuja P, Parameswar RA, Nirmal RM, Reddy BVR, Dineshshankar J, et al. A clinical study on oral lichen planus with special emphasis on hyperpigmentation. Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences. 2015;7(Suppl 2):S495-S8. [DOI:10.4103/0975-7406.163513] [PMID] []
9. Gupta S, Jawanda MK. Oral lichen planus: An update on etiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis and management. Indian journal of dermatology. 2015;60(3):222-9. [DOI:10.4103/0019-5154.156315] [PMID] []
10. Warnakulasuriya S, Kerr A. Oral cancer screening: past, present, and future. Journal of dental research. 2021;100(12):1313-20. [DOI:10.1177/00220345211014795] [PMID] []
11. Brower JV, Clark PA, Lyon W, Kuo JS. MicroRNAs in cancer: Glioblastoma and glioblastoma cancer stem cells. Neurochemistry international. 2014;77:68-77. [DOI:10.1016/j.neuint.2014.06.002] [PMID] []
12. Li C-H, Liao C-C. The metabolism reprogramming of microRNA Let-7-mediated glycolysis contributes to autophagy and tumor progression. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021;23(1):113. [DOI:10.3390/ijms23010113] [PMID] []
13. Wang B-G, Jiang L-Y, Xu Q. A comprehensive evaluation for polymorphisms in let-7 family in cancer risk and prognosis: a system review and meta-analysis. Bioscience Reports. 2018;38(4):BSR20180273. [DOI:10.1042/BSR20180273] [PMID] []
14. Chirshev E, Oberg KC, Ioffe YJ, Unternaehrer JJ. Let-7 as biomarker, prognostic indicator, and therapy for precision medicine in cancer. Clinical and translational medicine. 2019;8(1):24. [DOI:10.1186/s40169-019-0240-y] [PMID] []
15. Salah M, Rezaee M, Fattahi MJ, Ghaderi A, Khademi B, Mokhtari MJ. Association of lncRNA ANRIL rs10757278 A>G Variant, Tumor Size, Grading, Tumor Site, and Tumor Stage in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients. Reports of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 2024;13(1):59-66. [DOI:10.61186/rbmb.13.1.59] [PMID] []
16. Wang J, Lv N, Lu X, Yuan R, Chen Z, Yu J. Diagnostic and therapeutic role of microRNAs in oral cancer. Oncology Reports. 2021;45(1):58-64. [DOI:10.3892/or.2020.7854] [PMID] []
17. Roi A, Boia S, Rusu L-C, Roi CI, Boia ER, Riviș M. Circulating miRNA as a biomarker in oral cancer liquid biopsy. Biomedicines. 2023;11(3):965. [DOI:10.3390/biomedicines11030965] [PMID] []
18. Shahabinejad M, Zare R, Asadi Z, Mohajertehran F. LAMP3 (CD208) expression in squamous cell carcinoma and epithelial dysplasia of the oral cavity and clinicopathological characteristics of unfavorable prognosis. Reports of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. 2021;9(4):373. [DOI:10.52547/rbmb.9.4.373] []
19. Helal DS, Sabry N, Ali DA, AboElnasr SM, Abdel Ghafar MT, Sarhan ME, et al. MicroRNA Let-7a association with glycolysis-induced autophagy in locally advanced gastric cancer: Their role in prognosis and FLOT chemotherapy resistance. Pathol Res Pract. 2024;253:154968. [DOI:10.1016/j.prp.2023.154968] [PMID]
20. Gioacchini FM, Di Stadio A, De Luca P, Camaioni A, Pace A, Iannella G, et al. A pilot study to evaluate the expression of microRNA‑let‑7a in patients with intestinal‑type sinonasal adenocarcinoma. Oncol Lett. 2024;27(2):69. [DOI:10.3892/ol.2023.14202] [PMID] []
21. Luo C, Zhang J, Zhang Y, Zhang X, Chen Y, Fan W. Low expression of miR-let-7a promotes cell growth and invasion through the regulation of c-Myc in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Cell Cycle. 2020;19(15):1983-93. [DOI:10.1080/15384101.2020.1786633] [PMID] []
22. Polz A, Morshed K, Bibik R, Drop B, Drop A, Polz-Dacewicz M. Serum and Saliva Level of miR-31-5p and miR-let 7a in EBV Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(15). [DOI:10.3390/ijms241511965] [PMID] []
23. Fadhil RS, Wei MQ, Nikolarakos D, Good D, Nair RG. Salivary microRNA miR-let-7a-5p and miR-3928 could be used as potential diagnostic bio-markers for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. PLoS One. 2020;15(3):e0221779. [DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0221779] [PMID] []
24. Chen Z, Qiu J, Gao Y, Lu Q, Lin Y, Shi H. Study on the mechanism of let-7a-5p in regulating the proliferation in cervical cancer cells. Clin Transl Oncol. 2022;24(8):1631-42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-022-02878-9 [DOI:10.1007/s12094-022-02810-1]
25. Chen B, Han J, Chen S, Xie R, Yang J, Zhou T, et al. MicroLet-7b Regulates Neutrophil Function and Dampens Neutrophilic Inflammation by Suppressing the Canonical TLR4/NF-κB Pathway. Front Immunol. 2021;12:653344. [DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2021.653344] [PMID] []
26. Hariharan A, Hakeem AR, Radhakrishnan S, Reddy MS, Rela M. The Role and Therapeutic Potential of NF-kappa-B Pathway in Severe COVID-19 Patients. Inflammopharmacology. 2021;29(1):91-100. [DOI:10.1007/s10787-020-00773-9] [PMID] []
27. Wang B, Li D, Fiselier A, Kovalchuk I, Kovalchuk O. New AKT-dependent mechanisms of anti-COVID-19 action of high-CBD Cannabis sativa extracts. Cell Death Discov. 2022;8(1):110. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41421-022-00472-5 [DOI:10.1038/s41420-022-00876-y]
28. Wang Y, Li J, Zhang L, Sun HX, Zhang Z, Xu J, et al. Plasma cell-free RNA characteristics in COVID-19 patients. Genome Res. 2022;32(2):228-41. [DOI:10.1101/gr.276175.121] [PMID] []
29. Oliaei S, Mohtasham N, Aghaee-Bakhtiari S, Khazaeni K, Farshbaf A, Mozafari P, et al. Potential diagnostic role of salivary miR-let-7a-5p as a biomarker in oral squamous cell carcinoma and oral lichen planus patients: A research article2022. [DOI:10.21203/rs.3.rs-1760168/v1]
30. Li Y, He Y, Xiang J, Feng L, Wang Y, Chen R. The Functional Mechanism of MicroRNA in Oral Lichen Planus. J Inflamm Res. 2022;15:4261-74. [DOI:10.2147/JIR.S369304] [PMID] []
31. Mankovich N, Kehoe E, Peterson A, Kirby M. Pathway expression analysis. Sci Rep. 2022;12(1):21839. [DOI:10.1038/s41598-022-26381-x] [PMID] []

Add your comments about this article : Your username or Email:
CAPTCHA

Send email to the article author


Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

© 2015 All Rights Reserved | Reports of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Designed & Developed by : Yektaweb