Open AccessMicroRNA-34b has an oncogenic role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Author(s) -
Koshiro Harata,
Hideyuki Ishiguro,
Yoshiyuki Kuwabara,
Masahiro Kimura,
Akira Mitsui,
Ryo Ogawa,
Takeyasu Katada,
Tatsuya Tanaka,
Midori Shiozaki,
Yoshitaka Fujii
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
oncology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1792-1082
pISSN - 1792-1074
DOI - 10.3892/ol_00000120
Subject(s) - oncogene , microrna , molecular medicine , cancer research , cell cycle , malignancy , esophageal cancer , cell , cancer , transfection , biology , cell growth , medicine , gene , pathology , genetics
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common malignancy and one of the more difficult diseases to diagnose in Japan due to its poor prognosis. MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs of 21-23 nucleotides that regulate gene expression. MicroRNA-34b (miR-34b) has been reported to be overexpressed in various types of cancer. However, its role in ESCC has yet to be extensively studied. The present study investigated the expression of miR-34b in 88 ESCC patients. The miR-34b expression in ESCC was significantly higher than that in the corresponding normal esophageal mucosa. It was more highly expressed in tumors with more advanced stages. However, its expression did not correlate with the p53 status. Transfection of anti-miR-34b to the ESCC cells suppressed cell growth in vitro. These results suggest an oncogenic role of miR in ESCC.