E-ISSN: 1019-5157
ISSN: 2651-5024
Research
Downregulation of miR-221, miR-143 and miR-22 in meningioma and their diagnostic performance: a single-center casecontrol study
Salim Tekir✉ ,
Emre Özkara ,
Ebru Erzurumluoğlu ,
Zühtü Özbek ,
Sevilhan Artan ,
Ali Arslantaş
DOI: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.49747-25.3
Article in Press
Corresponding Author:
Salim Tekir (drsalimtekir28@gmail.com)
Abstract
Aim
Tissue microRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in meningioma biology, yet practical diagnostic markers remain limited. We evaluated four candidatesmiR-221, miR-143, miR-22 and miR-145in an expanded single-center cohort to define expression patterns and diagnostic performance. In this study we aimed to determine casecontrol differences in tissue miRNA expression and quantify their ability to distinguish meningioma from non-tumor dura; secondarily, to explore grade-wise differences.
Material and Methods
We analyzed 45 meningioma tissues (WHO Grade 1=22; Grade 2=23) and 26 dura controls. Expression was measured by qRT-PCR with U6 normalization and calculated using the 2^−ΔΔCt method. Group and grade comparisons used appropriate parametric/non-parametric tests. Diagnostic performance was assessed by ROC/AUC with Youden-derived cut-offs, reporting sensitivity and specificity.
Results
Compared with controls, meningioma samples showed significant downregulation of miR-221, miR-143 and miR-22 (all p<0.001), while miR-145 was borderline (p=0.052). Diagnostic discrimination was strongest for miR-221 (AUC 0.912; cut-off ≤0.19; sensitivity 91.11%; specificity 88.46%), followed by miR-143 (AUC 0.810; ≤0.24; 71.11%; 92.31%) and miR-22 (AUC 0.771; ≤0.36; 82.22%; 65.38%). No significant differences were observed between Grade 1 and Grade 2 for any miRNA.
Conclusion
Tissue miR-221, miR-143 and miR-22 are consistently downregulated in meningioma and demonstrate clinically meaningful diagnostic performance, with miR-221 yielding the highest AUC. These data support integrating miRNA assays into tissue-based diagnostics and motivate multi-center validation to refine cut-offs and assess prognostic utility.
Tissue microRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in meningioma biology, yet practical diagnostic markers remain limited. We evaluated four candidatesmiR-221, miR-143, miR-22 and miR-145in an expanded single-center cohort to define expression patterns and diagnostic performance. In this study we aimed to determine casecontrol differences in tissue miRNA expression and quantify their ability to distinguish meningioma from non-tumor dura; secondarily, to explore grade-wise differences.
Material and Methods
We analyzed 45 meningioma tissues (WHO Grade 1=22; Grade 2=23) and 26 dura controls. Expression was measured by qRT-PCR with U6 normalization and calculated using the 2^−ΔΔCt method. Group and grade comparisons used appropriate parametric/non-parametric tests. Diagnostic performance was assessed by ROC/AUC with Youden-derived cut-offs, reporting sensitivity and specificity.
Results
Compared with controls, meningioma samples showed significant downregulation of miR-221, miR-143 and miR-22 (all p<0.001), while miR-145 was borderline (p=0.052). Diagnostic discrimination was strongest for miR-221 (AUC 0.912; cut-off ≤0.19; sensitivity 91.11%; specificity 88.46%), followed by miR-143 (AUC 0.810; ≤0.24; 71.11%; 92.31%) and miR-22 (AUC 0.771; ≤0.36; 82.22%; 65.38%). No significant differences were observed between Grade 1 and Grade 2 for any miRNA.
Conclusion
Tissue miR-221, miR-143 and miR-22 are consistently downregulated in meningioma and demonstrate clinically meaningful diagnostic performance, with miR-221 yielding the highest AUC. These data support integrating miRNA assays into tissue-based diagnostics and motivate multi-center validation to refine cut-offs and assess prognostic utility.
Keywords
meningioma
microRNA
miR-221
miR-143
miR-22