In silico identification of putative roles of food-derived xeno-mirs on diet-associated cancer

Abstract

Aim: Dietary miRNAs in foods were recently suggested to be absorbed into the human circulation and engage in human gene regulation. This started a debate on their possible impacts on human diseases which need further investigation. In this study, we aimed to identify the putative functions and possible implications of selected Xeno-miRs in human diseases by using bioinformatic tools.

Methods: Seventy-five human absorbable Xeno-miR candidates were selected from literature and narrowed down the list to miRNAs that share sequence homologies with human miRNAs. Sixteen distinct Xeno-miRs of animal species (cow, pig, chicken) were identified to have homologs in human and they were subsequently analyzed with target prediction, functional and pathway analysis tools.

Results and Conclusion: Thirteen human genes were common targets of the miRNA sets grouped by species and shown evidence of associations with various cancer categories, specifically in large intestine adenocarcinoma by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. miRNA functional enrichment analyses also highlighted the putative involvements of the dietary miRNAs in cancer pathways. Our effort provides “in silico” evidence for implications of animal-derived dietary miRNAs in cancer-associated pathways, and this shed on light the necessities of future translational research design to investigate the roles of dietary Xeno-miRs in cancer pathophysiology and nutrition-based interventions towards cancer management.

Acknowledgment

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.