Compositions and methods for microRNA expression profiling of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

摘要

The present invention relates compositions and methods for microRNA expression profiling of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. In particular, the invention relates to a diagnostic kit of molecular markers for identifying one or more mammalian target cells exhibiting or having a predisposition to develop a phenotype associated with a nasopharyngical carcinoma, the kit comprising a plurality of nucleic acid molecules, each nucleic acid molecule encoding a microRNA sequence, wherein one or more of the plurality of nucleic acid molecules are differentially expressed in the target cells and in one or more healthy control cells, and wherein the one or more differentially expressed nucleic acid molecules together represent a nucleic acid expression signature that is indicative for the presence of or the phenotype associated with a nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The invention further relates to methods using such nucleic acid expression signatures for identifying one or more mammalian target cells exhibiting or having a predisposition to develop a phenotype associated with a nasopharyngeal carcinoma as well as for preventing or treating such a phenotype. Finally, the invention is directed to a pharmaceutical composition for the prevention and/or treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinomas.