TP53 gene implications in prostate cancer evolution: potential role in tumor classification

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD) is a complex disease that can be driven by alterations in both coding and noncoding genes. Recent research has identified coding and non-coding genes that are considered to play important roles in prostate cancer evolution and which may be used as biomarkers for disease diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. TP53 is a critical hub gene in prostate cancer. Advanced studies have demonstrated the crosstalk between coding and non-coding RNAs, particularly microRNAs (miRNAs). METHODS: In this study, we investigated the roundabout of TP53 and their regulatory miRNAs (miR-15a-5p, miR-34a-5p, and miR-141-3p) based on the TCGA data set. We validated an additional patient cohort of 28 matched samples of patients with PRAD at tissue and plasma level. RESULTS: Therefore, using the UALCAN online database, we evaluated the expression level in PRAD of these genes revealing overexpression of TP53. qRT-PCR validation step endorsed the expression level for these genes. Additionally, we evaluated the expression level of the four key miRNAs (miR-15a-5p, miR-34a-5p, and miR-141-3p) interconnected as a network at tissue and plasma levels. CONCLUSIONS: Through these results, we demonstrated the essential function of TP53 and its associated miRNAs that play a significant role in tumor control, highlighting miRNAs’ potential as future therapeutic targets and biomarkers with important implications in managing prostate cancer.