NRP1 is targeted by miR-130a and miR-130b, and is associated with multidrug resistance in epithelial ovarian cancer based on integrated gene network analysis

Multidrug resistance (MDR) in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains a public health issue for women worldwide, and its molecular mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated. The present study aimed to predict the potential genes involved in MDR, and examine the mechanisms underlying MDR in EOC using bioinformatics techniques. In the present study, four public microarray datasets, including GSE41499, GSE33482, GSE15372 and GSE28739, available in Gene Expression Omnibus were downloaded, and 11 microRNAs (miRNA; miRs), including miR-130a, miR-214, let-7i, miR-125b, miR-376c, miR-199a, miR-93, miR-141, miR-130b, miR-193b(*) and miR-200c, from previously published reports in PubMed were used to perform a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis through gene expression analysis, signaling pathway analysis, literature co-occurrence and miRNA-mRNA interaction networks. The results demonstrated that the expression of neuropilin 1 (NRP1) was upregulated, thereby acting as the most important hub gene in the integrated gene network. NRP1 was targeted by miR-130a and miR-130b at the binding site of chromosome 10: 33466864-3466870, which was involved in the axon guidance signaling pathway. These results suggested that alteration of the gene expression levels of NRP1 expression may contribute to MDR in EOC. These data provide important information for further experimental investigations of the drug resistance-associated functions of NRP1 in EOC.