Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of B-cell
non-Hodgkin lymphoma in adults and the pathogenesis of DLBCL is multifactorial and complex. Understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in DLBCL is important to identify new therapeutic targets. The present study aimed to screen and identify differentially expressed
microRNAs (
miRNAs/miRs) between
diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and control [lymph node reactive
hyperplasia (LRH)] groups, and to investigate whether
miRNAs associated with DLBCL could serve as potential therapeutic targets. In total, 5 DLBCL experimental samples and 5 control samples were obtained from fresh patient tissues. Firstly, the fresh samples were analyzed using
miRNA microarray to identify differentially expressed
miRNAs. Next, three databases (TargetScan,
microRNA.org and PITA) were used to predict by intersection the potential target genes of the 204 differential
miRNAs identified, and a Venn diagram of the results was performed. Subsequently, the target genes of differential
miRNAs were analyzed by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis. Finally, to validate the
miRNA microarray data, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was performed for 8 differentially expressed
miRNAs (miR-193a-3p, miR-19a-3p, miR-19b-3p, miR-370-3p, miR-1275, miR-490-5p, miR-630 and miR-665) using DLBCL and LRH fresh samples. In total, 204
miRNAs exhibited differential expression, including 105 downregulated and 54 upregulated
miRNAs. The cut-off criteria were set as P≤0.05 and fold-change ≥2. A total of 7,522 potential target genes for the 204
miRNAs were predicted. Potential target genes were enriched in the following pathways: '
Cancer', 'MAPK signaling pathway', 'regulation of actin cytoskeleton', 'focal adhesion', 'endocytosis', 'Wnt signaling pathway', 'axon guidance', 'calcium signaling pathway' and 'PI3K/AKT signaling pathway'. A total of 8
miRNAs were validated by RT-qPCR, and 4
miRNAs (miR-19b-3p, miR-193a-3p, miR-370-3p and miR-490-5p) exhibited low expression levels in DLBCL (P<0.05), while miR-630 was highly expressed in DLBCL (P<0.05). Overall, the present study screened 204 differentially expressed
miRNAs and analyzed the expression levels of 8 differentially expressed
miRNAs in DLBCL. These differentially expressed
miRNAs may serve as therapeutic targets for improvement of therapeutic efficacy in DLBCL in the future.