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Tumor Discovery

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Molecular characterization of colorectal cancer:

Insights from miRNA, mRNA, and protein
analysis

Hersh Abdul Ham-Karim * , Narmeen Ahmad 2 , Alan Shwan ,
1
3
and Mohammad Ilyas 4
1 Department of Dentistry, College of Medicine, Komar University of Science and Technology, Chaq-
Chaq-Qualaraisi, Sulaimani City, Iraq
2 Kurdistan Institution for Strategic Studies and Scientific Research, Qirga, Sulaimani, KRG, Iraq
3 Department of Medical Laboratory Analysis, College of Medical Science, Cihan University,
Sulaimani, Iraq
4 Nottingham Molecular Pathology Node, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Colorectal Cancer: Best Tools for Diagnosis to
Management Strategies)

Abstract

Recent research highlights the significant roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in various
*Corresponding author: diseases, particularly cancer, where they serve as diagnostic and prognostic markers.
Hersh Abdul Ham-Karim This study focuses on colorectal cancer (CRC) by examining the expression of six
(hersh.abdul@komar.edu.iq) specific miRNAs, miR-20a, miR-21, miR-29a, miR-31, miR-92a, and miR-224, in 81
Citation: Ham-Karim H, Ahmad N, tumor samples compared to matched normal tissues. We assessed the expression
Shwan A, Ilyas M. Molecular levels of six target genes, SMAD4, PTEN, TGFBRII, BCL2, KLF4, and RASA1, using reverse
characterization of colorectal
cancer: Insights from miRNA, transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry.
mRNA, and protein analysis. Our results indicated a significant upregulation of miR-20a, miR-21, miR-29a, and miR-
Tumor Discov. 2025;4(1):68-78. 31 in tumor samples, alongside a decrease in TGFBRII mRNA expression. Correlation
doi: 10.36922/td.4631
analyses demonstrated that high levels of miR-20a were inversely related to both
Received: August 22, 2024 mRNA and protein levels of PTEN. Elevated expressions of miR-21 and miR-224 were
1st revised: October 22, 2024 associated with lower mRNA and protein levels of TGFBRII. Furthermore, increased
levels of miR-29a and miR-31 showed an inverse relationship with mRNA and
2nd revised: November 2, 2025
protein levels of RASA1. These findings suggest a strong link between upregulated
Accepted: November 7, 2024 miRNAs and downregulated target genes, indicating their significant roles in CRC
Published online: November 28, carcinogenesis. Notably, the upregulation of miR-20a, miR-21, miR-29a, and miR-
2024 31 may serve as effective biomarkers for differentiating CRC from normal mucosa,
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). potentially enhancing screening strategies in the general population.
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Keywords: Colorectal cancer; microRNA; mRNA; Immunohistochemistry
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
1. Introduction
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with Colorectal cancer (CRC) stands as a prominent gastrointestinal malignancy globally,
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional with more than 1.2 million new cases reported annually. It holds the position of being
affiliations. the third most common cancer worldwide and significantly contributes to cancer-

Volume 4 Issue 1 (2025) 68 doi: 10.36922/td.4631