Altered expression spectrum and target gene prediction of tRNA-derived small RNAs in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Background Dysregulation of tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) in various cancers has been indicated to play vital roles in tumorigenesis, but few reported in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Here, we determined to elucidate the role of tsRNAs in ccRCC and their potential as new tumor biomarkers. Methods We obtained the tsRNA expression spectrum of ccRCC by a small RNA microarray sequence. Eight dysregulated tsRNAs were selected and validated by reverse transcription-quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). We identified these tsRNAs’ potential target genes. The biological functions of tsRNAs were identified by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) assay. Results The microarray sequence showed statistically significant 433 upregulated tsRNAs and 798 downregulated tsRNAs in ccRCC. Then, eight tsRNAs were validated by RT-qPCR, and the target genes of the validated tsRNAs were predicted using TargetScan and miRanda databases. GO annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses show potential biological functions and signaling pathways of the predicted target genes of tsRNAs in ccRCC. External database validation results suggest that tRF5-23-ValAAC-2 may be a key biomarker for ccRCC development. Conclusions In this study, we identified the tsRNA spectrum in ccRCC tissues and found that dysregulated tsRNAs may be novel biomarkers and possible therapeutic targets for ccRCC.