Methylation Status of miR-34a and miR-126 in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Tumor Tissues

Authors
Nazanin Mehrzad 1
Mohammad Saber Zamani 1
Amir Abbass Rahimi 1
Masoud Shamaei 2
Morteza Karimipoor 1
1 Molecular Medicine Department, Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
2 Mesih Deneshvari Hospital Shahid Beheshti Medical Sciences University, Tehran, Iran
10.61186/ibj.3845
Abstract
Background: MiR-34a and miR-126 mainly act as tumor suppressors and are often downregulated in various cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We aimed to determine the methylation status of miR-34a and miR-126 in NSCLC patients.

Methods: The current study included 63 paraffin-embedded NSCLC and paired adjacent normal tissues. After DNA extraction and bisulfite treatment, the methylation status of miR-34a and miR-126 were evaluated using the MSP method.

Results: There was no statistically significant difference between tumor and normal tissues regarding the methylation status of miR-34a and miR-126

(p > 0.05). Moreover, we found no significant correlation between the methylation status of miR-34a and miR-126 with patients’ demographic parameters, including gender, age, and pathology subtype (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: Considering the low expression of mir-126 and mir-34 in NSCLC, more sensitive methods are recommended to be exploited for detecting the level of methylation or underlying mechanisms other than promoter hypermethylation in silencing these genes in NSCLC.
Keywords
DNA methylation
miR-34a
miR-126
Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma