Work

Expression analysis of potential novel biomarkers TRIM29 alongside lncRNA NORAD and MIR497-HG in breast, gastric, and colorectal cancers

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background: The rising cancer incidence and mortality rates support continued investigation of molecular markers in breast cancer (BC), gastric cancer (GC), and colorectal cancer (CRC). mRNAs and lncRNAs are involved in cancer-related regulation, and altered expression of TRIM29, NORAD, and MIR497HG has been reported in different tumor types. This study evaluated these three transcripts as candidate diagnostic biomarkers in BC, GC, and CRC using public expression datasets and RT-qPCR validation. Methods: Bioinformatics and RT-qPCR analyses showed cancer type-specific expression patterns. MIR497HG was downregulated in BC, GC, and CRC in both public-data analysis and RT-qPCR validation. NORAD was significantly upregulated in GC and CRC, while its change in BC was not significant by RT-qPCR. TRIM29 was downregulated in BC and upregulated in CRC by RT-qPCR. In GC, GEO microarray analysis and RT-qPCR supported TRIM29 downregulation, while ENCORI analysis suggested upregulation, indicating dataset-dependent differences. ROC analysis supported the diagnostic potential of these transcripts in a cancer type-specific manner. Results: Bioinformatics and RT-qPCR analyses revealed TRIM29 was downregulated in BC and upregulated in CRC, but It reduced in GC despite microarray data suggesting otherwise. TRIM29 showed significant interaction with hsa-miRNA-3940-5p. MIR497HG expression was notably reduced in BC, GC, and CRC across both microarray and RT-qPCR. It also exhibited strong links with MUC2, MUC4, MUC5AC, and MUC5B. While ENCORI indicated a slight decrease in NORAD expression in BC, qRT-PCR results were not significant. However, NORAD was significantly upregulated in GC and CRC, interacting with key cancer-related genes like MUC4, MUC2, MUC16, MUC3A, and MUC5AC. Conclusion: The findings support TRIM29, NORAD, and MIR497HG as candidate diagnostic biomarkers in GC and CRC, while TRIM29 and MIR497HG showed diagnostic relevance in BC. Pathway enrichment suggested a possible association between TRIM29-related genes and interferon-related signaling, but this result requires functional validation. The observed correlations between TRIM29 and the lncRNAs MIR497HG and NORAD should be interpreted as co-expression patterns and not as evidence of direct molecular interaction.

Source: Molecular Genetics and Metabolism Reports

DOI: 10.1016/j.ymgmr.2026.101370