Developmental transcription factor NFIB is a putative target of oncofetal miRNAs and is associated with tumour aggressiveness in lung adenocarcinoma

Genes involved in fetal lung development are thought to play crucial roles in the malignant transformation of adult lung cells.  Consequently, the study of lung tumour biology in the context of lung development has the potential to reveal key developmentally relevant genes that play critical roles in lung cancer initiation/progression.  Here, we describe for the first time a comprehensive characterization of miRNA expression in human fetal lung tissue, with subsequent identification of 37 miRNAs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that recapitulate their fetal expression patterns. Nuclear Factor I/B (NFIB), a transcription factor essential for lung development, was identified as a potential frequent target for these “oncofetal” miRNAs. Overall design: We performed a comprehensive characterization of miRNA expression in human fetal lung tissues, NSCLC tumours and patient-matched non-malignant lung parenchymal tissues by miRNA sequencing. The miRNA-sequencing data for other NSCLC samples used in this study (i.e. all the ones with the adenocarcinoma subtype) were previously deposited in GEO (GSE62182).