Expression Profiles of miR-93 and miR-330 in Iranian Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common adult human leukemia. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression. Research has shown that in CLL, microRNAs can have function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Some studies demonstrated that the expression of microRNA-93 (miR-93) and microRNA-330 (miR-330) have been changed in several cancers, including lung, prostate, and colon cancer. We aimed to elucidate the changes in miR-93 and miR-330 expression in CLL patients in comparison with controls. In this case-control study, the expression levels of miR-93 and miR-330 was evaluated in 30 CLL patients who had referred to Omid Hospital, Isfahan, Iran, and 30 controls in peripheral blood mononuclear cells using reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The expression of miR-93 and miR-330 were found to significantly increase in CLL patients compared with controls (p<0.0001). The findings indicated that miR-93 and miR-330 are probably the novel potential biomarker for early diagnosis of CLL, at least in Iranian patients. However, for a decisive result, further investigations are warranted.