Shirin Vafadar - Department of Biochemistry, Higher Education Institute of Rab-e Rashidi, Tabriz, Iran
Venus Zafari - Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Masoud Pour Moghaddam - Mt Kuring-Gai Medical Centre, NSW, Australia
Milad Assadi - Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Soltan Ali Mahboob - Department of Biochemistry, Higher Education Institute of Rab-e Rashidi, Tabriz, Iran
Akbar Sharifi - Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Ensiyeh Seyedrezazadeh - Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

Background: Recent evidence underscores to the important regulatory roles of microRNAs as a biomarker for diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); this disease often has poor prognosis, and it is the most prevalent cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. This study investigated the levels of miR-۱۴۶a-۵p and miR-۱۹۶a-۲ in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Methods: In the present case-control research, we collected the PBMCs through isolating blood from ۲۲ NSCLC patients and ۲۲ healthy individuals. Following the extraction of total RNA and cDNA synthesis, we studied the expression levels of miR-۱۴۶a and miR-۱۹۶a-۲ by using qPCR. Results: Both the miR-۱۴۶a-۵p and miR-۱۹۶a-۲ were significantly down-regulated in the PBMCs of NSCLC patients in comparison with normal healthy ones (P=۰.۰۰۲ and p <۰.۰۰۱, respectively). There was an association between the expression levels of microRNAs and the types of tumors, which was significant for miR-۱۴۶a-۵p (P=۰.۰۲). Furthermore, in NSCLC cases, a significant positive correlation existed between miR-۱۹۶a-۲ and miR-۱۴۶a-۵p expression levels (r=۰.۷۱, P=۰.۰۰۲). Conclusion: According to the study results, miR-۱۴۶a-۵p and miR-۱۹۶a-۲ that were down-regulated in the PBMCs of NSCLC patients might serve as potential biomarkers for diagnosis if confirmed in future studies.

Non-small-cell lung, Carcinoma, miR-۱۴۶a, miR-۱۹۶a-۲