{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T10:52:58Z","timestamp":1791370378642,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791331200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791331200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004442","name":"National Science Centre","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2020\/39\/O\/NZ4\/01732"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020\/39\/O\/NZ4\/01732"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004442","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["2020\/39\/O\/NZ4\/01732"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020\/39\/O\/NZ4\/01732"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03ha2q922","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis-associated ulcerative colitis (PSC-UC) have an elevated risk of colorectal cancer compared with ulcerative colitis (UC), but the molecular mechanisms linking chronic inflammation to epithelial cell fate remain unclear. The present study investigated disease- and region-specific molecular patterns involving miRNAs and associated PI3K\/AKT, STAT3, and NF-\u03baB signalling pathways. miR-21, miR-181a, miR-181b, and key pathway components were analysed in paired ascending and sigmoid colon biopsies from patients with PSC, PSC-UC, UC, and controls. Functional effects were examined in HT-29 and NCM460D cells, and circulating miRNAs, including miR-155, were assessed. UC was characterised by marked miR-181a upregulation and PI3K\/AKT activation, whereas PSC-UC showed reduced PDCD4, divergent p65 regulation, and altered miR-181a\/miR-181b coordination. In NCM460D cells, miR-181a and miR-181b reduced viability, promoted apoptosis, impaired cell-cycle progression, and decreased PDCD4, p-AKT, and p-STAT3; miR-181b additionally reduced CYLD. Serum miR-155 was elevated in PSC-UC compared with UC and showed the strongest individual discriminatory capacity. Random forest analysis and an exploratory multivariable serum miRNA profile showed discriminatory potential. These findings support disease- and region-specific molecular patterns involving miRNAs and associated signalling pathways linked to epithelial cell-fate responses in PSC-UC and highlight molecular differences between PSC-UC and conventional UC.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells15191821","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T10:13:02Z","timestamp":1791367982000},"page":"1821","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Disease- and Region-Specific Molecular Patterns Involving miRNAs and Associated Signalling Pathways and Epithelial Cell-Fate Responses in PSC-Associated Ulcerative Colitis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-9544-4647","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alicja","family":"\u0141aba","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Functional Anatomy, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powsta\u0144c\u00f3w Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-4190-9901","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joanna","family":"Abramczyk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Biology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powsta\u0144c\u00f3w Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-4600-8920","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Micha\u0142","family":"Lubkowski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Functional Anatomy, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powsta\u0144c\u00f3w Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Wies\u0142awa","family":"Rogoza-Mateja","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Unii Lubelskiej 1, 71-252 Szczecin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2064-0545","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Malgorzata","family":"Milkiewicz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Biology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powsta\u0144c\u00f3w Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Oktawian","family":"Knap","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Anatomy, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Ku S\u0142o\u0144cu 12, 71-073 Szczecin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Piotr","family":"Milkiewicz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Liver and Internal Medicine Unit, Department of General, Transplant and Liver Surgery, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland"},{"name":"Translational Medicine Group, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 70-204 Szczecin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7513-8640","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Agnieszka","family":"Kempinska-Podhorodecka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Functional Anatomy, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powsta\u0144c\u00f3w Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, 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