The role of microRNA in human lung squamous cell carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small noncoding RNAs with modulator activity of gene expression. Deregulation of miRNA genes was found in several types of cancers. To explore the role of the miRNAs in Chinese lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the expression profile of 711 miRNAs in SCC was analyzed. Total RNAs were used for hybridization on a commercially available array (miRCURY LNA array v.10.0), which contains 1,200 probes in tetramer, corresponding to 711 human miRNA genes. The results of miRNA microarray analysis were confirmed with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Seven human miRNAs (miR-126, miR-193a-3p, miR-30d, miR-30a, miR-101, let-7i, and miR-15a) were found to be significantly downregulated in lung SCC (P < 0.05), compared with normal lung tissues. The miRNAs miR-185∗ and miR-125a-5p were significantly upregulated in lung SCC (P < 0.05), compared with normal lung tissues. The miRNA let-7i was downregulated in 9 of the 20 SCC samples, and miR-126 was downregulated in 16 of 20. The deregulation of some miRNAs in lung SCC suggests their possible involvement in the development and progression of SCC.