Distinct Expression Patterns of miR-21-5p and miR-21-3p in Oral Epithelial Dysplasia and Early Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Clinic for Dental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, 18108 Niš, Serbia.
- 2Department for Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, 18108 Niš, Serbia.
- 3Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, 18108 Niš, Serbia.
- 4Department of Oral Surgery, Clinic for Dental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, 18108 Niš, Serbia.
- 5Department of Pathology, Institute of Pathological Anatomy, Clinical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, 18108 Niš, Serbia.
- 6Laboratory for Functional Genomics and Proteomics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, 18108 Niš, Serbia.
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Oral leukoplakia (OL) is a common oral potentially malignant disorder, but prediction of malignant progression remains challenging. This study investigated miR-21-5p and miR-21-3p expression in healthy oral mucosa, OL with epithelial dysplasia, and early oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), together with clinicopathological associations. Methods: Sixty participants were divided into three groups: exposure-free healthy controls (n = 20), histopathologically confirmed OL with epithelial dysplasia (n = 20), and early OSCC (pT1-2N0M0; n = 20). Expression was quantified by RT-qPCR and evaluated using exploratory correlation, regression, Welch's ANOVA, and Games-Howell comparisons. Results: miR-21-5p differed significantly among groups (p < 0.001). Expression was lower in OL than in healthy controls and early OSCC (both p < 0.001), whereas early OSCC and controls did not differ (p = 0.997). miR-21-5p was inversely associated with dysplasia grade (Spearman's ρ = -0.54, p = 0.013; unstandardized regression coefficient B = -0.646, p = 0.017). miR-21-3p was numerically higher in early OSCC, but its overall group difference was not significant (p = 0.051). Conclusions: The two mature miR-21 strands showed distinct, non-linear expression patterns across the three groups. These findings are preliminary and hypothesis-generating; the cross-sectional design does not establish predictive or prognostic value, and validation in larger longitudinal cohorts is required. The unexpected miR-21-5p pattern remains unexplained and requires independent validation.
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BibTeX
@article{trajkovic2026distinct,
title = {{Distinct Expression Patterns of miR-21-5p and miR-21-3p in Oral Epithelial Dysplasia and Early Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.}},
author = {Miloš Trajković and Dragan Krasić and Marija Vukelić-Nikolić and Predrag Radović and Tatjana Jevtović-Stoimenov and Simona Stojanović and Nikola Živković and Miloš Stojanović and Nikola Krstić},
journal = {Cancers},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/cancers18193116},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882811},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Distinct Expression Patterns of miR-21-5p and miR-21-3p in Oral Epithelial Dysplasia and Early Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
AU - Miloš Trajković
AU - Dragan Krasić
AU - Marija Vukelić-Nikolić
AU - Predrag Radović
AU - Tatjana Jevtović-Stoimenov
AU - Simona Stojanović
AU - Nikola Živković
AU - Miloš Stojanović
AU - Nikola Krstić
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
JO - Cancers
DO - 10.3390/cancers18193116
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882811
AB - Background/Objectives: Oral leukoplakia (OL) is a common oral potentially malignant disorder, but prediction of malignant progression remains challenging. This study investigated miR-21-5p and miR-21-3p expression in healthy oral mucosa, OL with epithelial dysplasia, and early oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), together with clinicopathological associations. Methods: Sixty participants were divided into three groups: exposure-free healthy controls (n = 20), histopathologically confirmed OL with epithelial dysplasia (n = 20), and early OSCC (pT1-2N0M0; n = 20). Expression was quantified by RT-qPCR and evaluated using exploratory correlation, regression, Welch's ANOVA, and Games-Howell comparisons. Results: miR-21-5p differed significantly among groups (p < 0.001). Expression was lower in OL than in healthy controls and early OSCC (both p < 0.001), whereas early OSCC and controls did not differ (p = 0.997). miR-21-5p was inversely associated with dysplasia grade (Spearman's ρ = -0.54, p = 0.013; unstandardized regression coefficient B = -0.646, p = 0.017). miR-21-3p was numerically higher in early OSCC, but its overall group difference was not significant (p = 0.051). Conclusions: The two mature miR-21 strands showed distinct, non-linear expression patterns across the three groups. These findings are preliminary and hypothesis-generating; the cross-sectional design does not establish predictive or prognostic value, and validation in larger longitudinal cohorts is required. The unexpected miR-21-5p pattern remains unexplained and requires independent validation.
SN - 2072-6694
ER -