Exploration of the molecular mechanism of prostate cancer based on mRNA and miRNA expression profiles

Prostate cancer, the second most common cancer in men, has been rarely explored by integrating mRNA and miRNA expression profiles. In this study, we combined two mRNA expression datasets and six documented miRNAs to uncover the comprehensive molecular mechanism of prostate cancer. Results showed that a total of 30 genes were significantly differentially expressed in 49 tumor samples by comparing with 22 normal samples. Importantly, all samples from the two datasets can be clearly classified into two groups, tumor group and normal group, based on the selected differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The miRNA–mRNA regulation network indicated that 4 out of 30 DEGs can be regulated by three miRNAs. In addition, prognostic performance validation using in silico databases showed that the DEGs can significantly differentiate between low-risk and high-risk prostate cancer. In summary, multiple biological processes are probably involved in the development and progression of prostate cancer. First, dysregulation of SV2 can regulate transporter and transmembrane transporter activity and then provide the necessary nutrients for tumor cell proliferation. Second, HOXD10 can induce cell proliferation via TCF-4. Finally, dysregulation of CACNA1D can further suppress tumor apoptosis in prostate cancer. The identification of critical genes and valuable biological processes can be useful for the understanding of the molecular mechanism of prostate cancer.