Differential micro-RNA expression in primary CNS and nodal diffuse large B-cell lymphomas

Most primary CNS lymphomas (PCNSL) are diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL). However, clinical behavior and prognosis differ considerably from those for nodal DLBCL (nDLBCL), and their pathogenesis is still not fully understood. Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) have been associated with cancer development and progression. We investigated a large miRNA panel for differential expression in PCNSL and nDLBCL, to determine new mechanisms potentially involved in PCNSL pathogenesis. Using paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens from 21 HIV-negative patients with newly diagnosed PCNSL (n = 11) and nDLBCL (n = 10), we measured the expression of 365 miRNA species by quantitative real-time PCR using low-density PCR arrays. We found that 18 miRNAs were differentially expressed: median expression levels of 13 miRNAs were 2.1-13.1 times higher in PCNSL, and median expression levels of 5 miRNAs were 2.6-3.3 times higher in nDLBCL. MiRNAs upregulated in PCNSL were associated with the Myc pathway (miR-17-5p, miR-20a, miR-9), with blocking of terminal B-cell differentiation (miR-9, miR-30b/c), or with upregulation by inflammatory cytokines (miR-155). Putative tumor-suppressor miRNAs (miR-199a, miR-214, miR-193b, miR-145) were downregulated in PCNSL. There was no overlap of miRNAs dysregulated in PCNSL with those differentially expressed between immunohistologically defined germinal center B cell like (GCB) and non-GCB types or, apart from miR-9, with miRNAs known to be over-expressed in human brain. We conclude that PCNSL exhibits a distinct pattern of miRNA expression compared with nDLBCL. This argues for the involvement of different molecular mechanisms in the pathogenesis of these two lymphoma types.