Identification of lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA axes and KEGG pathways related to uveal melanoma metastasis

BackgroundUveal melanoma (UM) is a common intraocular malignancy in adults frequently with metastasis and poor survival.ObjectiveThis study aimed to identify genes, pathways and the ceRNA axes related to the metastasis of UM.MethodsThe GSE73652 dataset was downloaded and 1719 differentially expressed RNAs (DE-RNAs), including 13 lncRNAs, 5 miRNAs, and 1701 genes, were identified in metastatic UM samples compared with non-metastatic ones.ResultsA total of 11 lncRNA-miRNA pairs were identified by interviewing the DIANA-LncBase database. In addition, 49 UM-related KEGG pathways were filtered in CTD with the search term "uveal melanoma". KEGG pathways involving the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) among the miRNA targets were found and overlapped with UM-related pathways. Accordingly, two crucial overlapped pathways (Wnt and Chemokine signaling pathway) in UM metastasis were mediated by axes consisting of 6 lncRNAs (such as H19, PVT1 and SNGHG1), 3 miRNAs (including hsa-miR-1228, hsa-miR-106b and hsa-miR-6836) and 12 mRNAs (including CTNNB1, MAP3K7, WNT7B, MAPK10 and PLCB4).ConclusionThe results showed that the involvement of UM-related Wnt/β-catenin and Chemokine signaling pathways and the ceRNA regulatory axes showed noteworthy interest in UM metastasis.