Plasma-derived exosomal miR-4732-5p is a promising noninvasive diagnostic biomarker for epithelial ovarian cancer

Background Exosomal miRNAs regulate gene expression and play important roles in several diseases. We used exosomal miRNA profiling to investigate diagnostic biomarkers of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Methods In total, 55 individuals were enrolled, comprising healthy (n = 21) and EOC subjects (n = 34). Small mRNA (smRNA) sequencing and real-time PCR (RT-PCR) were performed to identify potential biomarkers. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were conducted to determine biomarker sensitivity and specificity. Results Using smRNA sequencing, we identified seven up-regulated (miR-4732-5p, miR-877-5p, miR-574-3p, let-7a-5p, let-7b-5p, let-7c-5p, and let-7f-5p) and two down-regulated miRNAs (miR-1273f and miR-342-3p) in EOC patients when compared with healthy subjects. Of these, miR-4732-5p and miR-1273f were the most up-regulated and down-regulated respectively, therefore they were selected for RT-PCR analysis. Plasma derived exosomal miR-4732-5p had an area under the ROC curve of 0.889, with 85.7% sensitivity and 82.4% specificity in distinguishing EOC patients from healthy subjects (p<0.0001) and could be a potential biomarker for monitoring the EOC progression from early stage to late stage (p = 0.018). Conclusions Plasma derived exosomal miR-4732-5p may be a promising candidate biomarker for diagnosing EOC.

Automated summary

Exosomal miRNA profiling was used to identify potential biomarkers for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The up-regulated miR-4732-5p in plasma derived exosomes showed high sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing EOC patients from healthy subjects, and may serve as a promising candidate biomarker for diagnosing EOC and monitoring disease progression.