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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mol. Biosci.
Sec. RNA Networks and Biology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2024.1521839
This article is part of the Research Topic Computational Models for DNA, RNA and Protein Research View all articles

Decoding oral cancer: Insights from miRNA expression profiles and their regulatory targets

Provisionally accepted
Xin Wang Xin Wang Shuang Zhang Shuang Zhang Tao Cao Tao Cao Hong Fan Hong Fan *
  • First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Oral cancer (OC) is a prevalent malignancy with high mortality rates, largely attributed to late diagnosis and limited therapeutic advancements. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), as critical regulators of gene expression, have emerged as key players in modulating plethora of cellular mechanisms. This study analyzed miRNA and gene expression profiles in OC using publicly available datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) to explore their roles in tumorigenesis. A total of 23 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRs) and 1,233 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Functional annotation and pathway enrichment analyses highlighted significant involvement of DEmiRs and their target genes in cell cycle-related processes, including enrichment in the nucleus, transcription factor activity, regulation of nucleosides, nucleotide and nucleic acids, cell growth and/or maintenance, mitotic cell cycle, mitotic M-M/G1 phases an DNA replication. Furthermore, different signaling cascades such as IGF signaling, PDGF signaling and LKB1 signaling and PLK1 signaling pathways were also found associated with DEmiR-related regulation of OC progression. Proteinprotein interaction (PPI) network analysis identified key molecular hubs associated with DEmiR and DEGs in OC. Notably, most of these hub genes such as NEK2, NDC80, NUF2, PLK1, SMAD2, TP53, TPX2, TTK, UBE2C, WDHD1, WTAP, YWHAZ are directly or indirectly associated with cell cycle progression, underscoring the role of DEmiRs in driving tumor proliferation and survival in OC via dysregulating cell cycle. This study offers insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying OC and highlights miRNAs as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets to disrupt the cancerous cell cycle and improve treatment outcomes.

    Keywords: oral cancer, miRNAs, Gene Expression, Cell Cycle, PPIs

    Received: 03 Nov 2024; Accepted: 16 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Zhang, Cao and Fan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hong Fan, First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China

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