Signature of miR-21 and MEG-2 and their correlation with TGF-beta signaling in breast cancer

Breast cancer is highly prevalent and considered the main challenge to public health among females in Egypt as in other countries. MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) and MEG-2 are noncoding RNA attributed to their aberrant expression in several diseases, including breast cancer. This study aimed to assess the reliability of serum expression levels of miR-21 and MEG-2 in discriminating stages of breast cancer and scrutinize their correlations with the targeted transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) expression. One hundred and 30 participants whose ages ranged from 28 to 62 years were included in this study, divided into one hundred breast cancer patients and 30 healthy participants. miR-21 and TGF-beta expression levels showed upregulation in patients with BC and elevated miR-21/TGF-beta levels consistent with the BC stage. In addition, LncRNA (MEG-2) showed down-regulation in patients with BC. MEG-2 expression levels revealed a gradual decrease consistent with the BC stage. In addition, a negative relationship between the MEG-2 and the miR-21 and TGF-beta differential expression was also noticed. This study suggested that miR-21 and MEG-2 can be used as prospective diagnostic biomarkers and emphasized the crucible role of TGF-beta as therapeutic targets for BC.

Automated summary

This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of miR-21 and MEG-2 expression levels in serum as diagnostic biomarkers for breast cancer and investigate their correlations with TGF-beta expression. The results showed that miR-21 and TGF-beta were upregulated in breast cancer patients, and elevated miR-21/TGF-beta levels were consistent with cancer stage. On the other hand, MEG-2 expression was downregulated in breast cancer patients, with gradual decrease consistent with cancer stage. A negative relationship between MEG-2 and miR-21/TGF-beta differential expression was also observed. This study suggests that miR-21 and MEG-2 could be potential diagnostic biomarkers for breast cancer, and highlights the importance of TGF-beta as a therapeutic target.