Laboratory medicine
Dysregulation of the miR-557/MELK axis and its correlation with tumor markers in cervical cancer
By Liu N, Niu S, Sun X and 1 others.
Abstract
Introduction
Cervical cancer is a common gynecologic malignancy, and increasing evidence indicates that micro-RNA and its target genes are involved in its regulation. This study aimed to investigate alterations in miR-557 and maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK) expression and their associations with tumor markers in cervical cancer.
Methods
Quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was used to quantify serum miR-557 and MELK expression. Concurrently, a chemiluminescence immunoassay was performed to measure serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) and cancer antigen 125 (CA125) levels. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the associations among these biomarkers, and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to assess diagnostic performance. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to validate the targeting relationship between miR-557 and MELK.