MiRNA signatures related to invasiveness and recurrence in patients with non-functioning pituitary adenomas

Abstract Purpose: The aim of the present work was to analyse and identify differentially expressed miRNAs in Bulgarian patients with non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA). The relationship between deregulated miRNAs and tumor size, invasiveness, and recurrence was determined.Methods: Twenty patients with NFPAs were selected and fresh pituitary tumor tissues were collected. RNA containing miRNAs were isolated using miRNAeasy mini kit and analysed with LNA miRNA Cancer Focus PCR Panel (Qiagen) by quantitative real-time PCR. Results: Three miRNAs (miR-210-3p, miR-149-3p and miR-29b-3p) were deregulated in invasive compared to non-invasive NFPAs. Differential expression of 4-miRNA signature - miRNA-17, miR-19, miR-106a and miR-20 was informative as a recurrence biomarker. ROC analysis showed that the selected miRNAs could be used as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis and therapy monitoring of NFPAs.Conclusion: In this pilot study, we selected a unique miRNA expression profile correlating with NFPA invasiveness and recurrence. Moreover, some of the selected miRNAs are reported for the first time in patients with NFPAs and might elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in pituitary pathogenesis. The selected miRNAs showed a promising biomarker potential and could be studied for future miRNAs-based anti-NFPAs therapy.