Correlation and Biological Significance of miR-362 and LncRNA SNHG12 Expression Levels, IL-17 Methylation-Positive, and hr- HPV Infection in Patients with Cervical Cancer
Authors: He Lijie , Chen Zongnan , Zhang Heping 
Published: March 2024

Objective
To explore the correlation and biological significance between the expression levels of microribonucleic acid-362 (miR-362) and long-chain non coding ribonucleic acid (RNA) small nucleolar RNA host gene 12 (LncRNA SNHG12), the positive rate of interleukin-17 (IL-17) methylation, and high-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) infection in patients with cervical cancer.
Methods
168 patients with cervical cancer admitted to Tianjin Fifth Central Hospital from January 2019 to August 2023 were selected as the group A, 170 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia admitted during the same period were selected as the group B, and 180 female volunteers who underwent health examinations during the same period were selected as the group C. The clinical data, rate of hr-HPV infection, expression levels of cervical tissue miR-362 and LncRNA SNHG12, positivity rate of IL-17 methylation of three groups, hr-HPV infection positive and expression levels of negative cervical tissue miR-362 and LncRNA SNHG12, positivity rate of IL-17 methylation were compared, and the correlation between expression levels of cervical tissue miR-362 and LncRNA SNHG12, positivity rate of IL-17 methylation and hr-HPV infection positivity in cervical cancer patients was analyzed by Spearman method, The expression levels of miR-362 and LncRNA SNHG12 in cervical tissues with different clinical and pathological characteristics, as well as the clinical and pathological characteristics of cervical cancer with different IL-17 methylation states were compared.
Results
The infection rates of hr-HPV in the group A, the group B, and the group C were 84.52%, 62.94%, and 7.78%, respectively, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). The expression level of miR-362 in cervical tissue of the group A was lower than that of the group B and the group C, and the group B was lower than the group C; The expression level of LncRNA SNHG12 in cervical tissue of the group A was higher than that of the group B and the group C, and the group B was higher than the group C; The positive rates of IL-17 methylation in the three groups were 68.45%, 52.35%, and 37.78%, respectively, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). The expression level of miR-362 in cervical tissue of patients with hr-HPV infection positive cervical cancer was lower than that of patients with hr-HPV infection negative cervical cancer; The expression level of LncRNA SNHG12 in cervical tissue was higher than that in patients with hr HPV infection negative cervical cancer; The positive rate of IL-17 methylation was 72.54%, which was higher than the 46.15% of patients with hr-HPV infection negative cervical cancer (P < 0.05). The expression level of miR-362 in cervical tissue of cervical cancer patients was negatively correlated with positive hr HPV infection (r=-0.565, P < 0.05); The expression level of LncRNA SNHG12 and the positivity rate of IL-17 methylation in cervical tissue were positively correlated with hr-HPV infection positivity (r = 0.498, 0.512, P < 0.05). The expression levels of miR-362 and LncRNA SNHG12 in cervical tissue of the group A patients showed statistical differences (P < 0.05) at different ages, levels of tumor differentiation, International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FIGO) staging, and lymph node metastasis. The proportion of highly differentiated tumors in IL-17 methylation positive patients was 60.87%, higher than the 39.62% in IL-17 methylation negative patients (P < 0.05).
Conclusion
The expression levels of miR-362 and LncRNA SNHG12 in cervical tissue, as well as the positive rate of IL-17 methylation were closely related to the occurrence of cervical cancer and hr-HPV, and there was a certain correlation with the clinical and pathological characteristics of patients.