Comprehensive Bioinformatic Analysis of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) Network-Related microRNAs As Candidate Signatures in Prostate Adenocarcinoma

Prostate cancer is an adenocarcinoma that involves epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) for metastasis. To uncover novel insights into the development of prostate tumors and to identify important genes and putative microRNAs (miRs) for patient care, this study performed an in-depth bioinformatics analysis using dbDEMC3.0 (Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China), MIENTURNET (University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy), and DIANA-miTED (University of Thessaly, Thessaly, Greece) to explore miRs regulating tumorigenesis, proliferation, and potential therapeutic targets. A total of 373 differently expressed miRs were examined in this study, of which 87 had significant upregulation and 85 had significant downregulation. Our results from the MIENTURNET software showed that miR-141-3p, miR-200a-3p, miR-200b-3p, miR-200c-3p, miR-203a-3p, miR-429, miR-34a-5p, and miR-509-3-5p interact with the transcription factors CDH1, CDH2, SNAI1, ZEB1, and ZEB2, which play a significant role in the core EMT regulatory network. The Encyclopedia of RNA Interactomes (ENCORI) miR-target interaction co-expression analysis observed that miR-34a-5p had a strong interaction with CDH1 as compared to other genes. The results of DIANA-plasmiR analysis showed that miR-34a-5p is a useful prognostic and diagnostic biomarker. Our results suggest that this study advances our knowledge of the molecular mechanism underlying prostate adenocarcinoma and that the interaction between the EMT gene and differentially expressed miR (DEmiR) in prostate adenocarcinoma may represent a target for prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment.