Background: Competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) have revealed a new mechanism of interaction between RNAs. However, an understanding of the ceRNA regulatory network in Wilms tumour (WT) remains limited.
Methods: The expression profiles of mRNAs, miRNAs and lncRNAs in Wilms tumour samples and normal samples were obtained from the Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatment (TARGET) database. The EdgeR package was employed to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs, miRNAs and mRNAs. Functional enrichment analyses via the ClusterProfile R package were performed, and the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA interaction ceRNA network was established in Cytoscape. Subsequently, the correlation between the ceRNA network and overall survival was analysed.
Results: A total of 2037 lncRNAs, 154 miRNAs and 3609 mRNAs were identified as differentially expressed RNAs in Wilms tumour. Of those, 205 lncRNAs, 26 miRNAs and 143 mRNAs were included in the ceRNA regulatory network. The results of Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were mainly enriched in terms related to response to mechanical stimuli, transcription factor complexes, and transcription factor activity (related to RNA polymerase II proximal promoter sequence-specific DNA binding). The results of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that the DEGs were mainly enriched in pathways related to the cell cycle. The survival analysis results showed that 16 out of the 205 lncRNAs, 1 out of 26 miRNAs and 5 out of 143 mRNAs were associated with overall survival in Wilms tumour patients (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: CeRNA networks play an important role in Wilms tumour. This finding might provide effective, novel insights for further understanding the mechanisms underlying Wilms tumour.
Keywords: Competing endogenous RNA network; Long noncoding RNA; MicroRNAs; Prognosis; Wilms tumour.