{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T11:08:50Z","timestamp":1771931330542,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771891200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Medical Univeristy of Bia\u0142ystok","award":["B.SUB.26.373"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["B.SUB.26.373"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the bladder exhibits low- and high-grade papillary forms with distinct prognoses. High mobility group proteins (HMGA1, HMGA2, HMGB1) and miR-106a-5p are involved in tumor progression, but their interplay in UC remains incompletely understood. The aim of this study was to compare the expression of these parameters in low- and high-grade papillary UC. Tissue samples from 80 patients (40 low-grade and 40 high-grade) undergoing transurethral resection or cystectomy were analyzed, with control samples consisting of tumor-adjacent tissues without histopathological alterations obtained from the same patients. HMGA1, HMGA2, and HMGB1 protein expression was assessed immunohistochemically. Gene expression was quantified by real-time PCR, and miR-106a-5p levels were measured by droplet digital PCR. Statistical analysis was conducted using Statistica 13.3, applying one-way ANOVA with Tukey\u2019s post hoc test and correlation analysis, with p &lt; 0.05 considered significant. Expression of HMGA1 and HMGB1 was reduced in low-grade papillary urothelial carcinoma compared to control tissues, whereas both proteins were significantly increased in high-grade lesions. HMGA2 expression was minimal in low-grade tumors but partially restored in high-grade tumors. Analysis revealed the highest levels of miR-106a-5p in normal urothelium, slightly decreased in low-grade tumors, and significantly reduced in high-grade cancers. HMG proteins and miR-106a-5p demonstrate distinct expression patterns in low- versus high-grade papillary UC, which correlates with tumor aggressiveness. These molecules may serve as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Their potential as therapeutic targets requires further mechanistic and translational investigation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27052089","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T10:14:44Z","timestamp":1771928084000},"page":"2089","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Comparative Evaluation of HMG Family Proteins and miR-106a-5p in Low-Grade Non-Invasive and High-Grade Muscle-Invasive Papillary Urothelial Carcinoma"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Natalia","family":"Domian","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Histology and Cytophysiology, Medical University of Bia\u0142ystok, 15-089 Bia\u0142ystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Magdalena","family":"Smerecza\u0144ska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Histology and Cytophysiology, Medical University of Bia\u0142ystok, 15-089 Bia\u0142ystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4296-2203","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ma\u0142gorzata","family":"Mrugacz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Eye Rehabilitation, Medical University of Bia\u0142ystok, 15-089 Bia\u0142ystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1453-8501","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Grzegorz","family":"M\u0142ynarczyk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, Medical University of Bia\u0142ystok, 15-089 Bia\u0142ystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2954-942X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Irena","family":"Kasacka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Histology and Cytophysiology, Medical University of Bia\u0142ystok, 15-089 Bia\u0142ystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1016\/j.urology.2005.07.062","article-title":"Bladder cancer: Epidemiology, staging and grading, and diagnosis","volume":"66","author":"Kirkali","year":"2005","journal-title":"Urology"},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"449","article-title":"Bladder cancer: Present and future","volume":"149","author":"Ibarz","year":"2017","journal-title":"Med. 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