title: Identification of microRNAs From the miR-371~373 and miR-302 clusters as potential serum biomarkers of malignant germ cell tumors.
abstract: Current serum biomarkers for diagnosis and monitoring of malignant germ cell tumors (GCTs) show limited sensitivity and specificity. We previously observed that microRNAs of the miR-371∼373 and miR-302 clusters are overexpressed in all malignant GCTs, regardless of patient age, histologic subtype, or anatomic site, but are not reported to be coordinately up-regulated in other tumor types or disease states. Herein we show that levels of all 8 main members of the miR-371∼373 and miR-302 clusters were elevated in the serum of a 4-year-old boy at the time of diagnosis of yolk sac tumor. Levels returned to normal during an uneventful clinical follow-up, with kinetics similar to those of the conventional marker α-fetoprotein. We describe in detail the multiplex polymerase chain reaction protocol used to quantify serum microRNA levels, which is highly robust and reproducible. Our study indicates that miR-371∼373 and miR-302 cluster microRNAs are promising candidate biomarkers for improving disease monitoring (and potentially diagnosis) in malignant GCTs.
authors.affiliation: University of Cambridge, England.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Halsall
authors.forename: C Elizabeth
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Hook
authors.forename: Denise M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Coleman
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D018240:Endodermal Sinus Tumor / Q000235:genetics* / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010386:Pelvic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D035683:MicroRNAs