title: Correlation between the overexpression of Yin Yang 1 and the expression levels of miRNAs in Burkitt's lymphoma: A computational study.
abstract: A growing number of studies have highlighted the role of microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) in the development and progression of cancer. In particular, the aberrant expression of cancer-related proteins, such as oncogenes and tumor suppressors has been shown to correlate with the modulation of the expression of specific miRNAs. In the present study, we aimed to determine which downregulated miRNAs may be involved in modulating the expression of the oncogenic transcription factor, Yin Yang 1 (YY1). YY1 has been reported to be overexpressed in several malignancies and our previous studies have highlighted the significant correlation between the levels of YY1 and aggressive behavior in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). A total of 57 miRNAs that are potentially capable of targeting YY1 was identified throughin silicoapproaches. The search of publicly available NHL datasets, including paired mRNA and miRNA data (GSE23026) highlighted a significant correlation (Pearson's correlation, r>0.5) between the expression levels of YY1 and the expression levels of a limited set of miRNAs, including miR-363, miR-200a, miR-23b, miR-15a and miR-15b. Intriguingly, both hsa-miR-363 and hsa-miR-200a belong to the top 20 miRNAs that were found to be downregulated in Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) tissue compared to normal tissue. Although further validation studies are warranted, the identification of these two miRNAs associated with the upregulation of YY1 in BL may provide further insight into the pathogenesis of this tumor and may contribute to more personalized and targeted treatment approaches for patients with this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of General and Clinical Pathology, and Oncology, University of Catania, I-95124 Catania, Italy; U.R. Molecular Biology of Leukemia and Lymphoma, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sousse, Sousse 4002, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Sameh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hafsi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of General and Clinical Pathology, and Oncology, University of Catania, I-95124 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Saverio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Candido
authors.affiliation: Experimental Oncology 1, CRO Aviano National Cancer Institute, IRCCS, I-33081 Aviano, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maestro
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of General and Clinical Pathology, and Oncology, University of Catania, I-95124 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Falzone
authors.affiliation: U.R. Molecular Biology of Leukemia and Lymphoma, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sousse, Sousse 4002, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Zora
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Soua
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bonavida
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Virology, University of Crete Medical School, Heraklion 71409, Greece.
authors.forename: Demetrios A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Spandidos
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of General and Clinical Pathology, and Oncology, University of Catania, I-95124 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Libra
keywords: Burkitt's lymphoma; Yin Yang 1; hsa-miR-200a; hsa-miR-363