Correlation between the overexpression of Yin Yang 1 and the expression levels of miRNAs in Burkitt's lymphoma: A computational study

A growing number of studies have highlighted the role of microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) in the development and progression of cancer. In particular, the aberrant expression of cancer-related proteins, such as oncogenes and tumor suppressors has been shown to correlate with the modulation of the expression of specific miRNAs. In the present study, we aimed to determine which downregulated miRNAs may be involved in modulating the expression of the oncogenic transcription factor, Yin Yang 1 (YY1). YY1 has been reported to be overexpressed in several malignancies and our previous studies have highlighted the significant correlation between the levels of YY1 and aggressive behavior in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). A total of 57 miRNAs that are potentially capable of targeting YY1 was identified through in silico approaches. The search of publicly available NHL datasets, including paired mRNA and miRNA data (GSE23026) highlighted a significant correlation (Pearson's correlation, r>0.5) between the expression levels of YY1 and the expression levels of a limited set of miRNAs, including miR-363, miR-200a, miR-23b, miR-15a and miR-15b. Intriguingly, both hsa-miR-363 and hsa-miR-200a belong to the top 20 miRNAs that were found to be downregulated in Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) tissue compared to normal tissue. Although further validation studies are warranted, the identification of these two miRNAs associated with the upregulation of YY1 in BL may provide further insight into the pathogenesis of this tumor and may contribute to more personalized and targeted treatment approaches for patients with this disease.