Aberrant miR-181b-5p and miR-486-5p expression in serum and tissue of non-small cell lung cancer

•We found that miR-181b-5p was up-regulated in SCC; miR-486-5p was down-regulated in AC from serum and tissue samples of NSCLC based on NGS.•The targets were negatively regulated by these two miRNAs based on qRT-PCR.•The pathway of miRNAs and targets were predicted.•Our study suggested that miR-181b-5p and miR-486-5p could be potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of NSCLC.

BackgroundLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in China. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the major type of lung cancer.ObjectivesThe aim of our study was to characterize the expression profiles of miRNAs in serum and tissue of NSCLC at the same time, and to find more accurate relationship of miRNAs between serum and tissue. Furthermore, we intended to find more biomarkers of miRNAs in NSCLC samples.MethodsIn this study, the miRNAs were sequenced in 18 paired serum and 18 paired tissue samples. The expression levels of miRNAs and targets were quantified by qRT-PCR. The function analysis was performed by using bioinformatics methods.ResultsIn these paired samples miR-181b-5p was up-regulated in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), miR-486-5p was down-regulated in adenocarcinoma (AC), and miR-21-5p was up-regulated in both SCC and AC. However, miR-181b-5p and miR-486-5p were rarely reported in lung cancer related studies. The expression levels of these two miRNAs and their targets, RASSF1 and PIK3R1 were quantified in additional samples by qRT-PCR. The results showed that the targets were negatively regulated by the two miRNAs. In addition, we noted that RASSF1 and PIK3R1 were directly involved in non-small cell lung cancer pathway.ConclusionsOur study suggested that miR-181b-5p and miR-486-5p could be new potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of NSCLC.