Extracellular RNAs from Whole Urine to Distinguish Prostate Cancer from Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

RNAs, especially non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), are crucial players in regulating cellular mechanisms due to their ability to interact with and regulate other molecules. Altered expression patterns of ncRNAs have been observed in prostate cancer (PCa), contributing to the disease's initiation, progression, and treatment response. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of a specific set of RNAs, including long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and mRNAs, to discriminate between PCa and the non-neoplastic condition benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). After selecting by literature mining the most relevant RNAs differentially expressed in biofluids from PCa patients, we evaluated their discriminatory power in samples of unfiltered urine from 50 PCa and 50 BPH patients using both real-time PCR and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). Additionally, we also optimized a protocol for urine sample manipulation and RNA extraction. This two-way validation study allowed us to establish that miRNAs (i.e., miR-27b-3p, miR-574-3p, miR-30a-5p, and miR-125b-5p) are more efficient biomarkers for PCa compared to long RNAs (mRNAs and lncRNAs) (e.g., PCA3, PCAT18, and KLK3), as their dysregulation was consistently reported in the whole urine of patients with PCa compared to those with BPH in a statistically significant manner regardless of the quantification methodology performed. Moreover, a significant increase in diagnostic performance was observed when molecular signatures composed of different miRNAs were considered. Hence, the abovementioned circulating ncRNAs represent excellent potential non-invasive biomarkers in urine capable of effectively distinguishing individuals with PCa from those with BPH, potentially reducing cancer overdiagnosis.

Simultaneous noninvasive ultrasensitive detection of prostate specific antigen and lncRNA PCA3 using multiplexed dual optical microfibers with strong plasmonic nanointerfaces.

Low accuracy of diagnosing prostate cancer (PCa) was easily caused by only assaying single prostate specific antigen (PSA) biomarker. Although conventional reported methods for simultaneous detection of two specific PCa biomarkers could improve the diagnostic efficiency and accuracy, low detection sensitivity restrained their use in extreme early-stage PCa clinical assay applications. In order to overcome above drawbacks, this paper herein proposed a multiplexed dual optical microfibers separately functionalized with gold nanorods (GNRs) and Au nanobipyramids (Au NBPs) nanointerfaces with strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effects. The sensors could simultaneously detect PSA protein biomarker and long noncoding RNA prostate cancer antigen 3 (lncRNA PCA3) with ultrahigh sensitivity and remarkable specificity. Consequently, the proposed dual optical microfibers multiplexed biosensors could detect the PSA protein and lncRNA PCA3 with ultra-low limit-of-detections (LODs) of 3.97 × 10-15 mol/L and 1.56 × 10-14 mol/L in pure phosphorus buffer solution (PBS), respectively, in which the obtained LODs were three orders of magnitude lower than existed state-of-the-art PCa assay technologies. Additionally, the sensors could discriminate target components from complicated physiological environment, that showing noticeable biosensing specificity of the sensors. With good performances of the sensors, they could successfully assay PSA and lncRNA PCA3 in undiluted human serum and urine simultaneously, respectively. Consequently, our proposed multiplexed sensors could real-time high-sensitivity simultaneously detect complicated human samples, that providing a novel valuable approach for the high-accurate diagnosis of early-stage PCa individuals.

The clinical value of rapidly detecting urinary exosomal lncRNA RMRP in bladder cancer with an RT-RAA-CRISPR/Cas12a method.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Bladder cancer (BCa) is a highly aggressive malignancy of the urinary system. Timely detection is imperative for enhancing BCa patient prognosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study introduces a novel approach for detecting long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) Mitochondrial RNA Processing Endoribonuclease (RMRP) in urine exosomes from BCa patients using the reverse transcription recombinase-aided amplification (RT-RAA) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and associated Cas12a proteins (CRISPR/Cas12a) technique. Various statistical methods were used to evaluate its diagnostic value for BCa. RESULTS: The specificity of urine exosomal RMRP detection for BCa diagnosis was enhanced by using RT-RAA combined with CRISPR/Cas12a. The testing process duration was reduced to 30 min, which supports rapid detection. Moreover, this approach allows the identification of target signals in real-time using blue light, facilitating immediate detection. In clinical sample analysis, this methodology exhibited a high level of diagnostic efficacy. This was evidenced by larger area under the curve values with receiver operating characteristic curve analysis compared with using traditional RT-qPCR methods, indicating superior diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity. Furthermore, the combined analysis of RMRP expression in urine exosomes detected by RT-RAA-CRISPR/Cas12a and NMP-22 expression may further enhance diagnostic accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: The RT-RAA-CRISPR/Cas12a technology is a swift, sensitive, and uncomplicated method for nucleic acid detection. Because of its convenient and non-invasive sampling approach, user-friendly operation, and reproducibility, this technology is very promising for automated detection and holds favorable application possibilities within clinical environments.

Exosomal noncoding RNAs as noninvasive biomarkers in bladder cancer: a diagnostic meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In view of discordance consisting in different reports, a meta-analysis was conducted to comprehensively evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of exosomal noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) in blood and urine in the detection of bladder cancer. METHODS: Eligible studies were acquired by systematic retrieval through PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase. The pooled diagnostic efficacy was appraised by reckoning the area under the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve. The latent sources of heterogeneity were probed by subgroup analyses and meta-regression. STATA 12.0, Meta-DiSc 1.4, and RevMan 5.3 were applied to carry out all statistical analyses and plots. RESULTS: A total of 46 studies from 15 articles comprising 2622 controls and 3015 bladder cancer patients were included in our meta-analysis. Exosomal ncRNAs in blood and urine represented relatively satisfactory diagnostic efficacy in detecting bladder cancer, with a pooled sensitivity of 0.75, a specificity of 0.79, and an area under the SROC curve (AUC) of 0.84. Exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) exhibited better diagnostic value with a pooled AUC of 0.91 than that of exosomal long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). To some extent, the heterogeneity among studies was induced by exosomal ncRNA types (miRNA or lncRNA), exosomal ncRNA profiling (single- or multiple-ncRNA), sample size, specimen types, and ethnicity. CONCLUSION: Exosomal ncRNAs in blood and urine may play a vital role in diagnosing bladder cancer as prospective noninvasive biomarkers; nonetheless, their clinical performance needs to be confirmed by further massive proactive researches.

Predictive urinary RNA biomarkers of kidney injury after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is considered one of the best choices for the treatment of various kinds of urinary tract calculi, although it might cause acute kidney injury. OBJECTIVE: To measure the urinary long non-coding RNA-messenger RNA (LncRNA-mRNA) panel before and after ESWL to evaluate post-ESWL renal injury in a reliable and non-invasive method. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 60 patients with renal stones treated with ESWL and 30 healthy volunteers. Voided urine samples were obtained before, 2 h, and 1 day after ESWL. We measured the urinary level of LncRNA (SBF2-AS1, FENDRR-19) and mRNA (GBP1, NLRP3) by real-time qPCR and compared the results with serum creatinine and eGFR. RESULTS: LncRNA (SBF2-AS1, FENDRR-19) and mRNA (GBP1, NLRP3) levels were higher in patients with renal stones when compared with healthy volunteers. They showed a statistically significant increase in the level of LncRNA-mRNA panel in baseline and after ESWL treatment. CONCLUSION: LncRNA (SBF2-AS1, FENDRR-19) and mRNA (GBP1, NLRP3) levels were significantly elevated following ESWL treatment, highlighting the usefulness of urinary biomarkers in identifying patients at higher risk of developing renal injury after ESWL treatment.

Urinary exosomal long noncoding RNAs serve as biomarkers for early detection of non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Increasing the efficiency of early diagnosis using noninvasive biomarkers is crucial for enhancing the survival rate of lung cancer patients. We explore the differential expression of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)-related long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in urinary exosomes in NSCLC patients and normal controls to diagnose lung cancer. METHODS: A differential expression analysis between NSCLC patients and healthy controls was performed using microarrays. Gene ontology (GO) term and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were used to predict potential functions of lncRNAs in NSCLC. quantitative real-time PCR (QT-PCR) was used to verify microarray results. RESULTS: A total of 640 lncRNAs (70 up- and 570 down-regulated) were differentially expressed in NSCLC patients in comparison to healthy controls. Six lncRNAs were detected by QT-PCR. GO term and KEGG pathway analyses showed that differential lncRNAs were enriched in cellular component organization or biogenesis, as well as other biological processes and signaling pathways, such as the PI3K-AKT, FOXO, p53, and fatty acid biosynthesis. CONCLUSIONS: The differential lncRNAs in urinary exosomes are potential diagnostic biomarkers of NSCLC. The lncRNAs enriched in specific pathways may be associated with tumor cell proliferation, tumor cell apoptosis, and the cell cycle involved in the pathogenesis of NSCLC.

Circulating RNA in Kidney Cancer: What We Know and What We Still Suppose.

Renal cancer represents the 7th most common tumor worldwide, affecting 400,000 people annually. This malignancy, which is the third most frequent cancer among urological diseases, displays a completely different prognosis if the tumor is detected in the early stages or advance phases. Unfortunately, more than 50% of renal cancers are discovered incidentally, with a consistent percentage of cases where the tumor remains clinically silent till the metastatic process is established. In day-to-day clinical practice, no available predictive biomarkers exist, and the existent imaging diagnostic techniques harbor several gaps in terms of diagnosis and prognosis. In the last decade, many efforts have been reported to detect new predictive molecular biomarkers using liquid biopsies, which are less invasive in comparison to renal biopsy. However, until now, there has been no clear evidence that a liquid biopsy biomarker could be relevant to the creation of a precise and tailored medical management in these oncological patients, even though circulating RNA biomarkers remain among the most promising. Given the idea that liquid biopsies will play a future key role in the management of these patients, in the present review, we summarize the current state of circulating RNA (miRNA, lncRNAs, and circRNAs) as possible biomarkers of renal cancer presence and aggressiveness in patients.

Long noncoding RNAs may impact podocytes and proximal tubule function through modulating miRNAs expression in Early Diabetic Kidney Disease of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients.

Aims: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play key roles in the pathophysiology of DKD involving actions of microRNAs (miRNAs). The aims of the study were to establish the involvement of selected lncRNAs in the epigenetic mechanisms of podocyte damage and tubular injury in DKD of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients in relation to a particular miRNAs profile. Methods: A total of 136 patients with type 2 DM and 25 healthy subjects were assessed in a cross-sectional study concerning urinary albumin: creatinine ratio (UACR), eGFR, biomarkers of podocyte damage (synaptopodin, podocalyxin) and of proximal tubule (PT) dysfunction (Kidney injury molecule-1-KIM-1, N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase-NAG), urinary lncRNA metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), nuclear-enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1), myocardial infarction-associated transcript (MIAT), taurine-upregulated gene 1 (TUG1), urinary miRNA21, 124, 93, 29a. Results: Multivariable regression analysis showed that urinary lncMALAT1 correlated directly with urinary synaptopodin, podocalyxin, KIM-1, NAG, miRNA21, 124, UACR, and negatively with eGFR, miRNA93, 29a (p<0.0001; R2=0.727); urinary lncNEAT1 correlated directly with synaptopodin, KIM-1, NAG, miRNA21, 124, and negatively with eGFR, miRNA93, 29a (p<0.0001; R2=0.702); urinary lncMIAT correlated directly with miRNA93 and 29a, eGFR (p<0.0001; R2=0.671) and negatively with synaptopodin, KIM-1, NAG, UACR, miRNA21, 124 (p<0.0001; R2=0.654); urinary lncTUG1 correlated directly with eGFR, miRNA93, 29a, and negatively with synaptopodin, podocalyxin, NAG, miRNA21, 124 (p<0.0001; R2=0.748). Conclusions: In patients with type 2 DM lncRNAs exert either deleterious or protective functions within glomeruli and PT. LncRNAs may contribute to DKD through modulating miRNAs expression and activities. This observation holds true independently of albuminuria and DKD stage.

Exploring Noninvasive Biomarkers with the miRandola Database: A Tool for Translational Medicine.

Noninvasive biomarkers are required for addressing crucial clinical needs. The ideal biomarker should be easily accessible and provide a unique characteristic for a healthy status or a pathological condition. In the last years, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been proposed as promising tissue-based biomarkers for several diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Recently, miRNAs have shown great potential as novel noninvasive biomarkers, due to their high stability in human body fluids such as serum, plasma, and urine. Furthermore, many other noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) such as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) have shown to be novel biomarkers as well. The aim of this exciting research field is to offer novel tools, allowing translational scientists to develop new strategies for diagnosis, screening, and monitoring of diseases. In this book chapter, the miRandola database and its applications will be introduced. The database offers the possibility to explore information on ncRNAs as noninvasive biomarkers, manually extracted from scientific literature and public available resources.

Long Noncoding RNAs as Innovative Urinary Diagnostic Biomarkers.

The characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is now widely studied as a promising source of cancer-derived biomarkers because of their role in tumor formation and progression. However, CTCs analysis presents some limitations and no standardized method for CTCs isolation from urine has been defined so far. In fact, besides blood, urine represents an ideal source of noninvasive biomarkers, especially for the early detection of genitourinary tumors. Besides CTCs, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have also been proposed as potential noninvasive biomarkers, and the evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of urinary lncRNAs has dramatically increased over the last years, with many studies being published. Therefore, this review provides an update on the clinical utility of urinary lncRNAs as novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of bladder and prostate cancers.

Circulating Cell-Free Nucleic Acids: Main Characteristics and Clinical Application.

Liquid biopsy recently became a very promising diagnostic method that has several advantages over conventional invasive methods. Liquid biopsy may serve as a source of several important biomarkers including cell-free nucleic acids (cf-NAs). Cf-DNA is widely used in prenatal testing in order to characterize fetal genetic disorders. Analysis of cf-DNA may provide information about the mutation profile of tumor cells, while cell-free non-coding RNAs are promising biomarker candidates in the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer. Many of these markers have the potential to help clinicians in therapy selection and in the follow-up of patients. Thus, cf-NA-based diagnostics represent a new path in personalized medicine. Although several reviews are available in the field, most of them focus on a limited number of cf-NA types. In this review, we give an overview about all known cf-NAs including cf-DNA, cf-mtDNA and cell-free non-coding RNA (miRNA, lncRNA, circRNA, piRNA, YRNA, and vtRNA) by discussing their biogenesis, biological function and potential as biomarker candidates in liquid biopsy. We also outline possible future directions in the field.

The Potential Diagnostic Value of Exosomal Long Noncoding RNAs in Solid Tumors: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Exosomes are defined as small membranous vesicles. After RNA content was discovered in exosomes, they emerged as a novel approach for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA), a kind of specific RNA transcript, have been reported to function as tumor growth, metastasis, invasion, and prognosis by regulating the tumor microenvironment in exosomes. This study aims at exploring the potential diagnostic of exosomal lncRNA in solid tumors. METHODS: A meta-analysis conducted from January 2000 to October 2019 identified publications in the English language. We searched all relevant English literature from the Web of Science, EMBASE, and PubMed databases through October 1, 2019. The articles were strictly screened by our criteria and critiqued using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. RESULTS: There were 28 studies with 19 articles (4017 patients) identified, including studies on gastric cancer, laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, colorectal cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, breast cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, nonsmall cell lung cancer, and prostate cancer. A meta-analysis showed that the combined value of sensitivity in 29 studies was 0.74 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.7-0.78), and the combined value of specificity in the studies was 0.81 (95% CI, 0.78-0.83). This suggests the high diagnostic efficacy of liquid exosomes in cancer patients. It is statistically insignificant in terms of sex, ethnicity, and year. The diagnostic power of urinary system tumors was found to be higher than that of digestive system tumors by several subgroup analyses. CONCLUSIONS: We performed a meta-analysis and literature review of 28 studies that included 4017 patients with 10 malignant cancer types. Mechanistically, our study demonstrated that lncRNAs in exosomes could be a promising bioindicator for the diagnosis and prognosis of solid tumors. INPLASY Registration Number: INPLASY202060083.

Long noncoding RNA (MEG3) in urinal exosomes functions as a biomarker for the diagnosis of Hunner-type interstitial cystitis (HIC).

BACKGROUND: Toll-like receptor-7 (TLR7) is functionally involved in the pathogenesis of Hunner-type interstitial cystitis (HIC). In addition, maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3) is implicated in many urethral diseases. In this study, we aimed to verify the hypothesis that exosomal MEG3 in urine can be used as a novel diagnostic biomarker for HIC. METHODS: Electron microscopy was utilized to observe the distribution of urinary exosomes between the case group and the control group. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was utilized to compare the diagnostic values of MEG3 and miR-19a-3p. Computational analysis and luciferase assay were conducted to identify the correlation between MEG3 and miR-19a-3p as well as between TLR7 and miR-19a-3p. In addition, real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were performed to establish the signaling pathways implicated in the pathogenesis of HIC. RESULTS: When age and gender distributions are excluded, urinary exosomes were equally distributed between case and control groups. The area under the curve of MEG3 was larger than that of miR-19a-3p, indicating that MEG3 has a better value in the diagnosis of HIC. In addition, patients with HIC showed elevated MEG3 expression and inhibited miR-19a-3p expression, thus establishing a negative correlation between MEG3 and miR-19a-3p. MEG3 and TLR7 were both identified as targets of miR-19a-3p, establishing a MEG3/miR-19a-3p/TLR7 signaling pathway, in which MEG3 enhances the expression of TLR7 via inhibiting the expression of miR-19a-3p. CONCLUSION: MEG3 level was upregulated in patients with HIC. In addition, MEG3 downregulated miR-19a-3p expression while upregulating TLR7 expression. Furthermore, MEG3 contributes to the pathogenesis of HIC. Therefore, exosomal MEG3 in urine can be used as a biomarker for HIC diagnosis.

The previously uncharacterized lncRNA APP promotes prostate cancer progression by acting as a competing endogenous RNA.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) promote cell proliferation, migration, invasion and castration resistance in prostate cancer (PCa). Understanding the inherited molecular mechanisms by which lncRNAs contribute to the progression of PCa to a lethal disease could have an important impact on cancer detection, diagnosis and prognosis. In our study, PCa-associated lncRNA transcripts from RNA-seq data were identified and screened via bioinformatics analysis, NCBI annotations and literature review. We identified a novel lncRNA, lncAPP (lncRNA activated in PCa progression), which activates in PCa progression and is expressed in primary tumor tissues and urine samples of patients with localized or advanced PCa. Urinary-based lncAPP is a promising biomarker for predicting PCa progression. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that lncAPP enhanced cell proliferation and promoted migration and invasion. The underlying mechanism of lncRNA was investigated by RNA immunoprecipitation, dual-luciferase reporter system assay, etc. Upregulation of lncAPP promoted cell migration and invasion via competitively binding miR218 to facilitate ZEB2/CDH2 expression. In addition, in vivo subcutaneous tumor xenograft models and tail intravenously injection metastatic models were constructed to evaluate lncRNA function. Targeting lncAPP/miR218 axis in cell lines and tumor xenografts restrained tumor progression properties both in vitro and in vivo. These results establish that lncAPP/miR218 axis plays a critical role in PCa progression, and they also suggest new strategies to prevent tumor progression for therapeutic purposes.

LncRNA TapSAKI promotes inflammation injury in HK-2 cells and urine derived sepsis-induced kidney injury.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the possible mechanism of lncRNA TapSAKI in urine derived sepsis-induced kidney injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In vivo urine-derived sepsis (US) rat model and in vitro LPS-induced HK-2 cells were established, and TapSAKI, miR-22, PTEN, TLR4 and p-p65 expressions were detected by qRT-PCR and western blot. RNA precipitation and RNA pull-down were performed to confirm the interaction between TapSAKI and miR-22. RESULTS: TapSAKI was up-regulated, miR-22 was down-regulated, PTEN, TLR4 and p-p65 expressions, and inflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-6 levels were up-regulated in kidney tissue of US rats and LPS-induced HK-2 cells. In addition, TapSAKI interacted with miR-22, and negatively modulate miR-22 expression. We also observed TapSAKI promoted PTEN expression, TLR4/NF-κB pathway related proteins TLR4 and p-p65, and apoptosis protein cleaved-caspase-3 through negatively regulating miR-22. Further experiments proved TapSAKI/miR-22/TLR4/NF-κB pathway could promote HK-2 cell apoptosis. Finally, in vivo experiments showed TapSAKI knockdown negatively regulated miR-22 and positively regulate PTEN, decreased renal function indicators blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine, and reduced TNF-α and IL-6. CONCLUSION: TapSAKI was elevated in urine derived sepsis-induced kidney injury, and promoted HK-2 cell apoptosis and inflammatory response through miR-22/PTEN/TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

Expression signatures of exosomal long non-coding RNAs in urine serve as novel non-invasive biomarkers for diagnosis and recurrence prediction of bladder cancer.

Recently, expression signatures of exosomal long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been proposed as potential non-invasive biomarkers for cancer detection. In this study, we aimed to develop a urinary exosome (UE)-derived lncRNA panel for diagnosis and recurrence prediction of bladder cancer (BC). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to screen and evaluate the expressions of eight candidate lncRNAs in a training set (208 urine samples) and a validation set (160 urine samples). A panel consisting of three differently expressed lncRNAs (MALAT1, PCAT-1 and SPRY4-IT1) was established for BC diagnosis in the training set, showing an area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.854. Subsequently, the performance of the panel was further verified with an AUC of 0.813 in the validation set, which was significantly higher than that of urine cytology (0.619). In addition, Kaplan-Meier analysis suggested that the up-regulation of PCAT-1 and MALAT1 was associated with poor recurrence-free survival (RFS) of non-muscle-invasive BC (NMIBC) (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively), and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that exosomal PCAT-1 overexpression was an independent prognostic factor for the RFS of NMIBC (p = 0.018). Collectively, our findings indicated that UE-derived lncRNAs possessed considerable clinical value in the diagnosis and prognosis of BC.

Two long non-coding RNAs, Prcat17.3 and Prcat38, could efficiently discriminate benign prostate hyperplasia from prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently appeared as new players in cancer biology. Recently, a number of new prostate cancer-associated lncRNAs has been listed via RNA-seq approach by Mitranscriptome project. By analyzing this data we chose four lncRNAs (Prcat17.3, Prcat38, Prcat47, and Cat2184.4) and evaluated their expressions and their abilities to discriminate prostate tumors from benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: Fresh Prostate tissue samples (30 BPH, and 30 tumor samples) and urine samples (19 BPH, and 19 tumor samples) were collected and their total RNA extracted for cDNA syntheses. The expression of candidate lncRNAs was assessed by the real-time PCR technique. RESULTS: Our data revealed that the expression levels of PRCAT17.3 (P < 0.0001) and PRCAT38 (P < 0.0002) were significantly upregulated in human prostate cancer tissues, compared to BPH ones. Moreover, the altered expression was much higher for PRCAT17.3 (∼2000 folds) than PRCAT38 (∼50 folds). In contrast, the expression of Cat2184.4 showed a significant down-regulation in tumor samples (P < 0.0001), compared to BPH ones. While the expression level of PRCAT47 was increased in cancer samples, the changes were not statistically significant. In discriminating prostate tumors from BPH samples, Prcat17.3 (AUC-ROC, 0.927) demonstrated a better diagnostic efficacy than Prcat38 (AUC-ROC, 0.778). Moreover, real-time RT-PCR analyses on urine samples of prostate cancer patients revealed that prcat17.3 level is significantly elevated, (P < 0.0197; AUC-ROC value of 0.72), compared to that of BPH patients. CONCLUSION: We introduce here two novel lncRNAs with a potential application in diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Cell-free lncRNA expression signatures in urine serve as novel non-invasive biomarkers for diagnosis and recurrence prediction of bladder cancer.

Cell-free long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are stably present in urine and can serve as non-invasive biomarkers for cancer. We aimed to identify signatures of lncRNAs in urine for diagnosis and prognosis of bladder cancer (BC). Screening of lncRNAs by microarray analysis was performed using urine samples of 10 BC patients and 10 controls. Expressions of candidate lncRNAs were evaluated in the training and validation set including 230 BC patients and 230 controls by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). A two-lncRNA panel (uc004cox.4 and GAS5) was constructed and provided high diagnostic accuracy of BC with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.885 (95% CI, 0.836-0.924). The AUCs of the lncRNA panel for Ta, T1 and T2-T4 were 0.843, 0.867 and 0.923, respectively, significantly higher than those of urine cytology (all P < .05). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that higher level of uc004cox.4 was associated with poor recurrence-free survival (RFS) of non-muscle invasive BC (NMIBC) (P = .008). Additionally, Cox regression analysis indicated that uc004cox.4 was an independent prognostic factor for RFS of NMIBC (P = .018). Taken together, our findings indicated that urinary lncRNA signatures possessed potential clinical value for BC diagnosis. Moreover, uc004cox.4 could provide prognostic information for NMIBC.

Long non-coding RNA urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 as a tumor biomarker for the diagnosis of urinary bladder cancer.

To investigate the diagnostic value of urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 as a urine biomarker in urinary bladder cancer patients by performing a comprehensive meta-analysis. A comprehensive literature search was conducted by the databases PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China Knowledge Resource Integrated, and Web of Science. The quality of eligible studies was scored with the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies. The bivariate meta-analysis model was used to pool the sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio. Receiver operating characteristic curves and hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic models were employed to check the overall test performance in this meta-analysis. Seven publications involving 678 patients and 563 controls were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity was 0.84 (95% confidence interval: 0.80-0.88), specificity was 0.87 (95% confidence interval: 0.75-0.94), positive likelihood ratio was 6.5 (95% confidence interval: 3.10-13.62), negative likelihood ratio was 0.18 (95% confidence interval: 0.13-0.25), and diagnostic odds ratio was 36 (95% confidence interval: 13-99). The area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.89 (95% confidence interval: 0.86-0.91). Our results indicated that urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 was a potential diagnostic biomarker with good specificity and sensitivity in urinary bladder cancer. Further prospective studies with larger cohorts are necessary to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 for urinary bladder cancer.

Accuracy of the urine UCA1 for diagnosis of bladder cancer: a meta-analysis.

Urine UCA1 has been reported as a potential novel diagnostic biomarker for bladder cancer in several studies, but their results are inconsistent. As a result of this, a diagnostic meta-analysis to assess the diagnostic performance of urine UCA1 in detecting bladder cancer was conducted. A systematic electronic and manual search was performed for relevant literatures through PubMed, Cochrane library, Chinese Wan Fang and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases up to December 30, 2016. The quality of the studies included in this meta-analysis was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool. All analyses were conducted using stata12.0 software. Six studies collectively included 578 bladder cancer patients and 562 controls met the eligible criteria. The overall diagnostic accuracy was measured by the following: sensitivity 0.81 (95% CI = 0.75-0.86), specificity 0.86 (95% CI = 0.73-0.93), positive likelihood ratio 5.85 (95% CI = 2.72-12.57), negative likelihood 0.22 (95% CI = 0.15-0.32), diagnostic odds ratio 27.01 (95% CI = 8.69-83.97), and area under the curve 0.88 (95% CI = 0.85-0.91). Meta-regression analysis suggested that ethnicity significantly accounted for the heterogeneity of sensitivity. Deeks' funnel plot asymmetry test (P = 0.33) suggested no potential publication bias. According to our results, urine UCA1 has greater diagnostic value in diagnosing bladder cancer, however further research studies with more well-designed and large sample sizes are required to confirm our findings.