Description: Here, we evaluated miR-196a as a marker of BE progression to low-grade dysplasia, high-grade dysplasia, and EA using microdissected paraffin-embedded tissues from 11 patients. Higher levels of miR-196a were observed in EA, BE, and dysplastic lesions compared with normal squamous mucosa, and in high-grade dysplasia compared with BE and low-grade dysplasia. Using frozen tumor tissues from 10 additional patients who had advanced EA, we evaluated the correlation of miR-196a with its in silico-predicted targets, keratin 5 (KRT5), small proline-rich protein 2C (SPRR2C), and S100 calcium-binding protein A9 (S100A9), which are down-regulated during BE progression. MiR-196a levels inversely correlated with the predicted target mRNA levels in EA. We confirmed that miR-196a specifically targets KRT5, SPRR2C, and S100A9 3' UTRs using miR-196a-mimic and luciferase reporter-based assays. In conclusion, this study identified miR-196a as a potential marker of progression of BE and KRT5, SPRR2C, and S100A9 as its targets. |
