AUTHOR=Liu Mengfeng , Yu Xiran , Bu Jianlong , Xiao Qifan , Ma Sitong , Chen Naozhong , Qu Changfa 

TITLE=Comparative analyses of salivary exosomal miRNAs for patients with or without lung cancer

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2023.1249678

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2023.1249678

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Introduction:</bold> Lung cancer is the most frequent cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Exosomes are involved in different types of cancer, including lung cancer.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> We collected saliva from patients with (LC) or without (NC) lung cancer and successfully isolated salivary exosomes by ultracentrifugation. MiRNA sequencing was implemented for the exosome samples from NC and LC groups, dgeR was used to determine differentially expressed miRNAs (DE miRNAs), and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to verify three differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs).</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> A total of 372 miRNAs were identified based on the sequencing results. Subsequently, 15 DE miRNAs were identified in LC vs. NC, including eight upregulated miRNAs and seven downregulated miRNAs. Some DE miRNAs were validated via qPCR. A total of 488 putative target genes of the upregulated DE miRNAs were found, and the functional analyses indicated that numerous target genes were enriched in the pathways associated with cancer.</p><p><bold>Discussion:</bold> This suggests that miRNAs of salivary exosomes might have the potential to be used as biomarkers for prediction and diagnosis of lung cancer.</p>