Elucidating differentially expressed miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks in ovarian cancer: insights into pathogenesis, prognosis, and drug resistance

Abstract

Ovarian cancer has one of the highest mortality rates in gynecological malignancies worldwide, with frequent treatment fallouts while limiting improvements, mostly due to recurrence and development of drug resistance. MicroRNAs, a group of small non-coding RNAs which are known to regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally, have been linked to induce various aspects of malignancies, including ovarian cancer. This study tries to shed light on a comprehensive analysis of the differentially expressed miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks in OC, also elucidating exceptional expression landscapes to gain insights into its pathogenesis, prognosis, and drug resistance mechanisms. By integrating high-throughput microarray data from publicly available databases (GEO) and leveraging in-silico approaches with limma package in R software, we classify key miRNAs and their target mRNAs that are dysregulated in ovarian cancer tissues and drug resistant cell lines compared to normal controls. Our results reveal differentiated miRNA and their cognate regulated mRNAs in OC tissues and cell lines; as well as suggests novel regulatory pathways involving miRNAs such as hsa-miR-let7 family, hsa-miR-132-3p, hsa-miR-221-3p and hsa-miR-200c-3p; as well as targeted genes (LOX, LGR5, COL11A1, DUSP1, CXCL2, ALDH1A1); which are found to be associated with cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, and chemoresistance through further functional role analyses. This research not only deepens our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying ovarian cancer but also gives perspectives into complex and exceptional regulatory landscapes, and detects potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for better patient outcomes.