Clinical diagnostic value of tRF-24-6VR8K09LE9 and its identification as a novel tumor suppressor in gastric cancer

Abstract Background One of the most common gastrointestinal tumors is gastric cancer (GC), which has a high lethality and a poor prognosis. Traditional markers are relatively limited in detecting the development and prognosis of GC. Recently, it was discovered that mature tRNAs, which are expressed differently in a variety of malignancies, give rise to a novel class of tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs). Methods In this study, we investigated the role of short RNAs produced from tRNA in GC and possible therapeutic uses. We performed the detection of three tsRNAs using the tsRFun database, and then the TCGA database and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) were applied to validate them. Sanger sequencing, agarose gel electrophoresis, and several freeze-thaw experiments have been utilized to assess its performance at room temperature. The association between tRF-24-6VR8K09LE9 and clinicopathological features was investigated by the Chi-square test. Diagnostic effectiveness is assessed by Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC). Furthermore, mechanistic studies were performed to verify the effects of tRF-24-6VR8K09LE9 in GC. Results In GC, tRF-24-6VR8K09LE9 is low expressed. The Chi-square test displayed that tRF-24-6VR8K09LE9 was highly related to differentiation grade (P = 0.029), T-stage (P = 0.036), lymph node status (P = 0.036), TNM staging (P < 0.0001), and neurological/vascular invasion (P = 0.033), and the ROC curve indicated that tRF-24-6VR8K09LE9 is more effective than the current diagnostic markers for GC. Furthermore, mechanistic studies verified that upregulation of tRF-24-6VR8K09LE9 inhibited the development of GC. Conclusions tRF-24-6VR8K09LE9 can serve as a molecular marker for early GC. tRF-24-6VR8K09LE9 may be a tumor suppressor, and high levels of tRF-24-6VR8K09LE9 GC inhibit the invasion and migration.