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Ependymoma (EPN) is a rare primary tumor of the central nervous system (CNS) that affects both children and adults. Despite the definition and classification of distinct molecular subgroups, there remains a group of EPNs with a balanced genome, which makes it difficult to predict a prognosis of patients with EPN. The role of miRNA-mRNA network on EPN is still poorly understood. We assessed the involvement of miRNA-mRNA pairs in EPN by applying a weighted co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) approach. Using whole genome expression profile analysis followed by functional enrichment, we detected hub genes involved in active proliferation and DNA replication of nerve cells. Key genes including CYP11B1, KRT33B, RUNX1T1, SIK1, MAP3K4, MLANA, and SFRP5 identified in co-expression networks were regulated by miR-15a and miR-24-1. These seven miRNA-mRNA pairs were considered to influence not only pathways in cancer and tumor suppression process, but also MAPK, NF-kappaB, and WNT signaling pathways which were associated with tumorigenesis and development. This study provides a novel insight into potential diagnostic biomarkers of EPN and may have value in choosing therapeutic targets with clinical utility.

Background Breast cancer (BC) is one of the malignant solid tumors with the highest morbidity in the world. Currently, the therapeutic outcome of different types of treatment can be unsatisfactory. Novel lncRNA biomarkers in BC remains to be further explored. Methods Different expression of lncRNAs among BC tissues and adjacent normal tissues were identified with microarray analyses. A series of in vivo and in vitro gain-of-function laboratory procedures were conducted to study the biological functions of IGBP1-AS1. The prognostic effects on IGBP1-AS1 survival were evaluated by using in situ hybridization and survival analysis. In addition, other experiments including RNA pull down analysis, RNA immunoprecipitation, luciferase reporter assays, and chromatin immunoprecipitation as well as validating assays conducted in vivo were applied to identify the target and regulatory mechanisms of IGBP1-AS1. Results Significant down-regulation of IGBP1-AS1 was discovered in the cell lines and tissues of BC. With respect to its biological function, overexpression of IGBP1-AS1 had inhibitory effects on the invasion and proliferation of BC cells in vivo as well as in vitro. Analysis of the samples obtained from BC patients indicated a positive effect of IGBP1-AS1 on survival outcomes. LncRNA IGBP1-AS1/miR-24-1/ZIC3 axis as a loop can regulate the proliferation and invasion of BC cells. Conclusions IGBP1-AS1 could have inhibitory impact on the invasion and proliferation of BC and may serve as a promising biomarker for BC.