Exploring conserved mRNA-miRNA interactions in colon and lung cancers.

Aim: The main goal of this analysis was prioritization of co-expressed genes and miRNAs that are thought to have important influences in the pathogenesis of colon and lung cancers.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) as small and endogenous noncoding RNAs which regulate gene expression by repressing mRNA translation or decreasing stability of mRNAs; they have proven pivotal roles in different types of cancers. Accumulating evidence indicates the role of miRNAs in a wide range of biological processes from oncogenesis and tumor suppressors to contribution to tumor progression. Colon and lung cancers are frequently encountered challenging types of cancers; therefore, exploring trade-off among underlying biological units such as miRNA with mRNAs will probably lead to identification of promising biomarkers involved in these malignancies.

Methods: Colon cancer and lung cancer expression data were downloaded from Firehose and TCGA databases and varied genes extracted by DCGL software were subjected to build two gene regulatory networks by parmigene R package. Afterwards, a network-driven integrative analysis was performed to explore prognosticates genes, miRNAs and underlying pathways.

Results: A total of 192 differentially expressed miRNAs and their target genes within gene regulatory networks were derived by ARACNE algorithm. BTF3, TP53, MYC, CALR, NEM2, miR-29b-3p and miR-145 were identified as bottleneck nodes and enriched via biological gene ontology (GO) terms and pathways chiefly in biosynthesis and signaling pathways by further screening.

Conclusion: Our study uncovered correlated alterations in gene expression that may relate with colon and lung cancers and highlighted the potent common biomarker candidates for the two diseases.