title: Serum microRNA-17 functions as a prognostic biomarker in osteosarcoma.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are a class of small noncoding RNA molecules that have important roles in regulating the expression of target genes associated with the development and progression of cancer. The majority of miRNAs are expressed in a highly tissue- and region-specific manner, and released into the bloodstream as a consequences of different diseases. Furthermore, altered levels of miRNAs have been observed in several diseases, including cancer. In the present study, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) demonstrated that circulating miR-17 levels were significantly upregulated in patients with osteosarcoma (OS) compared with healthy subjects. RT-qPCR also revealed that high levels of circulating miR-17 expression were inversely correlated with phosphatase and tensin homolog expression, which was identified as a target gene of miR-17 in OS tissues. Furthermore, the overall survival of patients with OS was shorter in those with high miR-17 expression compared with moderate and low expression. Taken together, these findings indicate that miR-17 may function as a useful diagnostic and prognosis biomarker or therapeutic target of OS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Section of Physical Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Peng
authors.initials: ZP
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Liang
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zheng-Dong
authors.initials: ZD
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shu-Hua
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Cao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
keywords: biomarkers; microRNA-17; osteosarcoma; phosphatase and tensin homolog; prognosis; serum