Computational Model for Predicting the Relationship Between Micro-RNAs and Their Target Messenger RNAs in Breast and Colon Cancers.

Motivation: Uncovering the relationship between micro-RNAs (miRNAs) and their target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) can provide critical information regarding the mechanisms underlying certain types of cancers. In this context, we have proposed a computational method, referred to as prediction analysis by optimization method (PAOM), to predict miRNA-mRNA relations using data from normal and cancer tissues, and then applying the relevant algorithms to colon and breast cancers. Specifically, we used 26 miRNAs and 26 mRNAs with 676 (= 26 × 26) relationships to be recovered as unknown parameters.

Results: Optimization methods were used to detect 61 relationships in breast cancer and 32 relationships in colon cancer. Using sequence filtering, we detected 18 relationships in breast cancer and 15 relationships in colon cancer. Among the 18 relationships, CD24 is the target gene of let-7a and miR-98, and E2F1 is the target gene of miR-20. In addition, the frequencies of the target genes of miR-223, miR-23a, and miR-20 were significant in breast cancer, and the frequencies of the target genes of miR-17, miR-124, and miR-30a were found to be significant in colon cancer.

Availability: The numerical code is available from the authors on request.