Investigation of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Pathway Related, Exosomal miRNAs in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cases

Abstract

Investigation of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Pathway Related, Exosomal miRNAs in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cases

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Recently, the “Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor” gene and its related pathways are potential targets in precision medicine for “Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer” cases. The presented study is a proof of concept study, which utilizes exosomal miRNAs as an easy and cheap liquid biopsy approach. We aim to investigate, 4 exosomal miRNAs: miR-30b, miR-30c, miR-221-3p, miR-22-3p; and miR-1288 as control. They are defined in the literature previously. Methods: Thirty-six samples from distinct Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer cases are analyzed. Exosomes are extracted from the plasma of the patients; miRNA isolation, cDNA synthesis, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reactions are done and ∆/∆ Ct method is used for relative quantification. Results: The control miR1288 is expressed in all of the samples except one. The two miRNA targets miR-30c and miR-22-3p produced polymerase chain reaction curves successfully. The remaining two miRNAs (miR-30b, miR-221-3p) produce weak polymerase chain reaction curves. Conclusion: miR-30b, miR-221-3p, miR-30c, and miR-22-3p are reported to be associated with lung cancer previously, but they have not been studied in a patient series before. In our study, the exosomal miR-30c, and miR-22-3p are successfully derived from the plasma of cancer cases and they could be potential biomarkers.

Keywords

• EGFR
• exosome
• liquid biopsy
• miRNA
• Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

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