Poster Presentation 50 Years Shine-Dalgarno Symposium 2023

The interplay between microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs in HPV16 related Oropharyngeal cancers (#111)

Dayna Sais 1 , Valerie Gay 2 , Nham Tran 1
  1. School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia
  2. School Electrical and Data Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information technology, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales

The incidence of HPV associated oropharyngeal cancers (OPC) has been rising, making it one of the most common HPV related malignancies. The high-risk variant HPV16 accounts for up to 90% of HPV related OPC. In this study we aimed to uncover the interaction between two major ncRNA players in carcinogenesis, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs). LncRNAs and miRNAs are described as independent master regulators; however, evidence suggests the two ncRNAs can interact with each other. We processed and analysed the RNA-sequencing data from TCGA of 49 Oropharyngeal patients to identify differential expressed (DE) lncRNAs, miRNAs and mRNAs between HPV16+ and HPV- tissues. We identified 1929 DE lncRNAs when comparing HPV16+ to HPV- OPC. The function of these lncRNAs have not previously been reported OPC and are unique to this study. Between the HPV16+ and HPV- OPC tissues there were 32 DE-miRNAs and 60 DE-mRNAs. Using an interactome analysis we explored the specific functions of these lncRNAs in relation to miRNA sponging and the impact of altered expression on the RNA axis, which includes: lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA. Nearly all our differentially expressed lncRNAs had the potential to bind to one or more DE-miRNA, impacting multiple miRNA targets. The DE-lncRNAs were linked to cellular pathways including cell cycle and proliferation, signal receptor binding and the PI3K-Akt signalling pathway, highlighting the critical role they play in HPV16 related OPC.Overall, we demonstrated that HPV16 does lead to altered expression of non-codingRNAs in OPC. Through an interactome analysis we identify novel lncRNA-miRNA interactions in HPV16+ OPC. We have described a unique lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA axis in HPV16 related OPC. These molecular interactions have the potential to be key targets of HPV16 and play an important role in HPV driven cancers.