miRNA-mRNA interaction network in non-small-cell lung cancer

Interdiscip Sci. 2015 Apr 11. doi: 10.1007/s12539-014-0259-0. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small RNA molecules, about 20-25 nucleotides in length. They repress or degrade messenger RNA (mRNA) translation, which are involved in human cancer. In this study based on paired miRNA and mRNA expression profiles of non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC) samples, we constructed and analyzed miRNA-mRNA interaction network via several bioinformatics softwares and platforms. This integrative network is comprised of 249 nodes for mRNA, 90 nodes for miRNA and 290 edges that show regulations between target genes and miRNAs. The three miR-1207-5p, miR-1228* and miR-939 are the most connected miRNA that regulated a large number of genes. ST8SIA2, MED1 and HDAC4, SPN, which are targeted by multiple miRNAs and located in the center of the network, are involved in both lung cancer and nervous system via functional annotation analysis. Such a global interaction network of miRNA-mRNA in lung cancer will contribute to refining miRNA target predictions and developing novel therapeutic candidates.