Abstract: Objective To screen the differentially expressed microRNAs(miRNAs) in medulloblastomas(MB) using miRNA microarray and to explore the relationship between pathogenesis and miRNAs aberrantly expressed in MB. Methods The tumor tissue MB and normal cerebellar tissue adjacent to MB tumors were obtained from sporadic MB undergoing surgical resection. Total RNA, including the small RNAs, was extracted and isolated respectively. Hybridization was carried out on miRNA microarray chip. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR was performed to confirm results obtained by microarray analysis. Results Nine miRNAs have been identified, 4 of them were up-regulated and the remaining five were down-regulated in cancer tissues. The differential expression of miR-17, miR-100 and miR-106b and miR-218 was confirmed by microarray analysis. Conclusion MiRNA microarray analysis is a high-throughput, comprehensive molecular biological technology. The aberrant expression of miRNA genes in this study may be involved in the pathogenesis of human MBs.

Key words: medulloblastoma, miRNA, miRNA microarray, target gene, tumorigenesis