Identification of common differentially-expressed miRNAs in ovarian cancer cells and their exosomes compared with normal ovarian surface epithelial cell cells

The aim of the present study was to identify common microRNAs (miRNAs) in ovarian cancer (OC) cells and their exosomes using microarray data (accession number GSE76449) available from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, including exosomal samples from 3 OC cell lines, 1 normal ovarian surface epithelial cell line and their original cell samples. Differentially-expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) were identified using the Linear Models for Microarray data method, and mRNA targets of DE-miRNAs were predicted using the miRWalk2 database. The potential functions of the target genes of the DE-miRNAs were analyzed using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery tool. The association between crucial miRNAs and target genes, and their clinical associations, were validated using The Cancer Genome Atlas data. As a result, 12 upregulated and 12 downregulated DE-miRNAs were shared by the 3 OC cell lines compared with normal controls in the exosomal samples, while 5 upregulated and 65 downregulated DE-miRNAs were shared between the original cells. Among them, 9 downregulated DE-miRNAs were shared between exosomal and original cells. The target genes of 4 common DE-miRNAs between exosomal and original cells (miR-127-3p, miR-339-5p, miR-409-3p and miR-654-3p) were predicted. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that these target genes may be involved in the Wnt signaling pathway (miR-409-3p-CTBP1 and miR-339-5p-CHD8) and Proteoglycans in cancer (miR-127-3p-PPP1CA). The negative associations between these 3 miRNAs and target genes were confirmed by a Pearson's correlation analysis. miR-127 was negatively associated with tumor grade. In conclusion, our results describe a set of miRNAs involved in OC development, in exosomal and non-exosomal manners, by regulating their target genes. They may be potential targets for treatment of OC.