Plasma-derived Exosomal microRNA expression profile in Lung Adenocarcinoma with OSA

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea(OSA) was reported to involve in lung carcinogenesis. Altered expression of miRNAs that are secreted from exosomes is involved in the occurrence of various malignant tumors including lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Methods We investigated the differential expression of plasma exosomal miRNAs in LUAD patients with OSA compared to matched LUAD patients without OSA by high-throughput sequencing and verified the candidate miRNAs by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Results In total, 78 differentially expressed exosomal-miRNAs including 44 up-regulated and 34 down-regulated were obtained through high-throughput sequencing. Subsequently, validation studies performed by qPCR revealed that the expression level of exosomal miR-107 was significantly higher in LUAD with OSA(n = 18) than LUAD patients without OSA(n = 18). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that the PI3K-Akt pathway is targeted by miR-107 and may be involved in lung carcinogenesis under the intermittent hypoxia condition. Conclusion Aberrant profiling of plasma-derived microRNAs was identified and miR-107 may play a crucial role in the carcinogenesis of lung adenocarcinoma under the intermittent hypoxia condition.