Pediatr Res. 2025 Aug 20. doi: 10.1038/s41390-025-04320-6. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Current diagnostic and monitoring of pediatric brain tumors rely on invasive tissue biopsies and imaging, highlighting the need for non-invasive alternatives. For that matter, liquid biopsy is a promising method. This pilot study investigated the potential of circulating miRNAs to serve as non-invasive biomarkers of pediatric glioma tumors.
METHODS: The levels of mir-182-5p, mir-10b-5p, mir-106b-3p, mir-25-3p, and mir-21-5p were quantified in plasma samples from 68 pediatric gliomas patients and 12 Healthy controls using Real-time PCR. The results were assessed by differential and ROC curve analysis. Additionally, the involvement of mir-182-5p in pediatric high-grade gliomas aggressiveness was examined by functional studies using two cellular models.
RESULTS: All five circulating miRNAs demonstrated increased levels in pediatric glioma patients compared to HCs, significant correlation with Gliomas, and differential expression between various glioma subtypes. These miRNAs presented potential diagnostic discrimination between HCs and pediatric gliomas, as well as between different glioma subgroups. mir-182-5p showed the highest correlation to glioma and induction of migration as well as invasion ability of pediatric diffuse high-grade glioma 4 (pHGG-4) cells in vitro.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings present circulating miRNAs as promising biomarkers and treatment targets that, with further research, may be clinically utilized for monitoring pediatric glioma tumors.
IMPACT: This study demonstrates the potential of circulating miRNAs as valuable biomarkers for pediatric glioma detection and monitoring. Five examined circulating miRNAs were differentially expressed in pediatric glioma patients compared to controls. These miRNAs were correlated with glioma and could distinguish healthy from gliomas patients. Statistical analysis suggested these miRNAs may also distinguish between various glioma subtypes. Inhibition of the most promising circulating miRNA, miR-182-5p, decreased migration ability and invasiveness of pediatric high-grade glioma IV cells. In the future, the miRNAs studied could have applications as biomarkers for clinical management and treatment targets.
PMID:40836108 | DOI:10.1038/s41390-025-04320-6
