Expression profiling and clinicopathological correlation of miR-100-5p and miR-141-3p in HPV-mediated cervical carcinogenesis

Cervical cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies affecting women worldwide, primarily driven by high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Recent findings highlight the critical role of non-coding RNAs, particularly microRNAs (miRNAs), in regulating HPV-mediated oncogenic processes. However, the genotype specific miRNA expression patterns in HPV positive cervical cancer remain underexplored. This study aims to profile miRNA dysregulation in HPV-positive cervical cancer and explore their associations with histopathological parameters. miRNA profiling was performed on paired normal adjacent and cancerous cervical tissues using the NanoString nCounter™ Human V3 miRNA Panel to identify differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) followed by Taqman RT-qPCR validation in 50 paired cervical cancer. Expression data were normalized using miR-423-3p and miR-25-3p as endogenous controls, and relative quantification was calculated using the 2^−ΔΔCT method. Statistical analyses were employed to determine their association with clinicopathological data. A total of 62 DEMs were identified, comprising 35 upregulated and 27 downregulated miRNAs (FC ≥ 2.0, p < 0.05, FDR < 0.3). RT-qPCR confirmed downregulation of miR-100-5p (p < 0.0001) and upregulation of miR-141-3p (p = 0.0018) in cancerous tissues. miR-100-5p expression were reduced in squamous cell carcinoma, while miR-141-3p was significantly elevated in early-stage cervical cancer. The distinct expression of these miRNAs across tumour subtypes and stages suggests their involvement in early tumorigenic transformation. In conclusion, differential expression of miR-100-5p and miR-141-3p correlates with tumour histopathological subtype, stage, and HPV genotype highlighting their potential as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in HPV-associated cervical cancer.