Salivary miR-21 and miR-31 in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Molecular Pathogenesis, Diagnostic Significance, and Translation to Isothermal RPA.
- 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea.
- 2Biomedical Science Institute, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea.
- 3Department of Biomedical Science, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea.
Abstract
Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is often diagnosed at advanced stages despite the oral cavity's anatomical accessibility, highlighting the need for molecular adjuncts that can identify disease-associated changes before overt morphological progression. This review evaluates the biological roles and salivary diagnostic potential of microRNA-21 (miR-21) and miR-31, two miRNAs repeatedly associated with OSCC pathogenesis and progression. We examine current clinical evidence supporting their use as salivary biomarkers and discuss major sources of methodological variability, including differences in saliva collection, RNA recovery, normalization, and diagnostic thresholds. We pay particular attention to the transition from laboratory-based RT-qPCR to Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) for decentralized detection. Although RPA offers rapid, low-temperature amplification with reduced hardware requirements, mature miRNAs present a key technical challenge because their short length requires prior target extension or conversion. Successful chairside translation will depend on standardized sample processing, robust target-specific amplification, contamination control, and validation in clinically relevant early-stage and comparator populations.
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BibTeX
@article{ranbhise2026salivary,
title = {{Salivary miR-21 and miR-31 in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Molecular Pathogenesis, Diagnostic Significance, and Translation to Isothermal RPA.}},
author = {Jyotsna S Ranbhise and Manish Kumar Singh and Hyeong Rok Yun and Sunhee Han and Sung Soo Kim and Insug Kang},
journal = {Cells},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/cells15191799},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882497},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Salivary miR-21 and miR-31 in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Molecular Pathogenesis, Diagnostic Significance, and Translation to Isothermal RPA.
AU - Jyotsna S Ranbhise
AU - Manish Kumar Singh
AU - Hyeong Rok Yun
AU - Sunhee Han
AU - Sung Soo Kim
AU - Insug Kang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Cells
DO - 10.3390/cells15191799
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882497
AB - Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is often diagnosed at advanced stages despite the oral cavity's anatomical accessibility, highlighting the need for molecular adjuncts that can identify disease-associated changes before overt morphological progression. This review evaluates the biological roles and salivary diagnostic potential of microRNA-21 (miR-21) and miR-31, two miRNAs repeatedly associated with OSCC pathogenesis and progression. We examine current clinical evidence supporting their use as salivary biomarkers and discuss major sources of methodological variability, including differences in saliva collection, RNA recovery, normalization, and diagnostic thresholds. We pay particular attention to the transition from laboratory-based RT-qPCR to Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) for decentralized detection. Although RPA offers rapid, low-temperature amplification with reduced hardware requirements, mature miRNAs present a key technical challenge because their short length requires prior target extension or conversion. Successful chairside translation will depend on standardized sample processing, robust target-specific amplification, contamination control, and validation in clinically relevant early-stage and comparator populations.
SN - 2073-4409
ER -