LncRNA16 is a potential biomarker for diagnosis of early-stage lung cancer that promotes cell proliferation by regulating the cell cycle

LncRNA16 inhibits pyroptosis and promotes platinum resistance in non-small cell lung cancer by sponging miRNA1827 to regulate MBD3/GSDME expression

BACKGROUND

Platinum-based chemotherapy is the standard first-line cancer treatment. However, patients experience relapses due to chemoresistance. We found that long non-coding RNA 16 (lncRNA16) promotes platinum resistance and inhibits cell death in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the type of cell death inhibited by lncRNA16 remains unknown.

METHODS

The biological roles of lncRNA16 and microRNA 1827 (miRNA1827) in cell proliferation and colony formation were determined using functional experiments. Dual-luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation assays were performed to confirm the interactions between lncRNA16 and miRNA1827. In vivo patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) models were used to investigate the effects of miRNA1827 agomir on platinum resistance.

RESULTS

Pyroptosis was inhibited in platinum-resistant NSCLC cells. LncRNA16 contributed to the expression of methyl-CpG binding domain protein 3 (MBD3) by sponging miRNA1827, thereby inhibiting gasdermin E (GSDME) expression, which inhibited pyroptosis in platinum-resistant NSCLC. The miRNA1827 agomir repressed platinum resistance in vitro experiments and in vivo PDX models.

CONCLUSION

We identified a novel function of lncRNA16 in inhibiting pyroptosis and proposed an effective therapeutic drug, the miRNA1827 agomir, for chemosensitization. This study offers a potential strategy for treating patients with NSCLC, especially those with platinum resistance.

Comprehensive insights and In silico analysis into the emerging role of LincRNAs in lung diseases pathogenesis; a step toward ncRNA precision

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as essential regulators of gene expression, significantly influencing various biological processes. Approximately half of all lncRNAs are classified as long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs), which are situated among coding genes. Recent studies have documented the role of lincRNAs in the pathogenesis of lung diseases, including lung cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. These lincRNAs can modulate gene expression through various mechanisms, including epigenetic modifications, transcriptional regulation, and post-transcriptional regulation. By functioning as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs), lincRNAs can affect the activity of microRNAs (miRNAs) and their corresponding target genes. This review delves into the intricate mechanisms by which lincRNAs contribute to the development and progression of various lung diseases. Furthermore, it discusses the potential of lincRNAs as therapeutic targets.

Targeting lncRNA16 by GalNAc-siRNA conjugates facilitates chemotherapeutic sensibilization via the HBB/NDUFAF5/ROS pathway

Chemoresistance is a significant barrier to effective cancer treatment. Potential mechanisms for chemoresistance include reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and expression of chemoresistance-promoting genes. Here, we report a novel function of lncRNA16 in the inhibition of ROS generation and the progression of chemoresistance. By analyzing the serum levels of lncRNA16 in a cohort of 35 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and paired serum samples pre- and post-treatment from 10 NSCLC patients receiving neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy, performing immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays on 188 NSCLC tumor samples, using comprehensive identification of RNA-binding proteins by mass spectrometry (ChIRP-MS) assays, as well as RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and RNA pull-down analyses, we discovered that patients with increased serum levels of lncRNA16 exhibited a poor response to platinum-based chemotherapy. The expression of hemoglobin subunit beta (HBB) and NDUFAF5 significantly increases with the development of chemoresistance. LncRNA16 binds to HBB and promotes HBB accumulation by inhibiting autophagy. LncRNA16 can also inhibit ROS generation via the HBB/NDUFAF5 axis and function as a scaffold to facilitate the colocalization of HBB and NDUFAF5 in the mitochondria. Importantly, preclinical studies in mouse models of chemo-resistant NSCLC have suggested that lncRNA16 targeting by trivalent N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)-conjugated siRNA restores chemosensitivity and results in tumor growth inhibition with no detectable toxicity in vivo. Overall, lncRNA16 is a promising therapeutic target for overcoming chemoresistance, and the combination of first-line platinum-based chemotherapy with lncRNA16 intervention can substantially enhance anti-tumor efficacy.

The crucial roles of long noncoding RNA SNHGs in lung cancer

Lung cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors with growing morbidity and mortality worldwide. Several treatments are used to manage lung cancer, including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, as well as molecular-targeted therapy. However, the current measures are still far from satisfactory. Therefore, the current research should focus on exploring the molecular mechanism and then finding an effective treatment. Interestingly, we and others have embarked on a line of investigations focused on the mechanism of lung cancer. Specifically, lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene has been shown to be associated with biological characteristics and therapeutic resistance of lung cancer. In addition, small nucleolar RNA host genes may be used as diagnostic biomarker in the future. Herein, we will provide a brief review demonstrating the importance of small nucleolar RNA host genes in lung cancer, especially non-small cell lung cancer. Although lncRNA has shown a crucial role in tumor-related research, a large number of studies are needed to validate its clinical application in the future.

New Insights into the Importance of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Lung Cancer: Future Clinical Approaches

In mammals, a large part of the gene expression products come from the non-coding ribonucleotide sequences of the protein. These short and long sequences are within the range of tens to hundreds of nucleotides, encompassing more than 200 RNA molecules, and their function is known as the molecular structure of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). LncRNA molecules are unique nucleotides that have a substantial role in epigenetic regulation, transcription, and post-transcriptional modifications in different ways. According to the results of recent studies, lncRNAs have been shown to assume various roles, including tumor suppression or oncogenic functions in common types of cancer such as lung and breast cancer. These non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) play a pivotal role in activating transcription factors, managing the ribonucleoproteins, the framework for collecting co-proteins, intermittent processing regulations, chromatin status alterations, and maintaining the control within the cell. Cutting-edge technologies have been introduced to disclose several types of lncRNAs within the nucleus and the cytoplasm, which have accomplished important achievements that are applicable in medicine. Due to these efforts, various data centers have been created to facilitate and modify scientific information related to these molecules, including detection, classification, biological evolution, gene status, spatial structure, status, and location of these small molecules. In the present study, we attempt to present the impacts of these ncRNAs on lung cancer with an emphasis on their mechanisms and functions.

Differential expression of long non-coding RNAs as diagnostic markers for lung cancer and other malignant tumors

Due to advances in chip and sequencing technology, several types and numbers of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified. LncRNAs are defined as non-protein-coding RNA molecules longer than 200 nucleotides, and are now thought as a new frontier in the study of human malignant diseases including NSCLC. Diagnosis of numerous malignant tumors has been closely linked to the differential expression of certain lncRNAs. LncRNAs are involved in gene expression regulation at multiple levels of epigenetics, transcriptional regulation, and post-transcriptional regulation. Mutations, deletions, or abnormal expression levels lead to physiological abnormalities, disease occurrence and are closely associated with human tumor diseases. LncRNAs play a crucial role in cancerous processes as either oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. The expression of lncRNAs can regulate tumor cell in the proliferation, migration, apoptosis, cycle, invasion, and metastasis. As such, lncRNAs are potential diagnostic and treatment targets for cancer. And that, tumor biomarkers need to be detectable in easily accessible body samples, should be characterized by high specificity and sufficient sensitivity. Herein, it is significant clinical importance to screen and supplement new biomarkers for early diagnosis of lung cancer. This study aimed at systematically describing lncRNAs from five aspects based on recent studies: concepts, classification, structure, molecular mechanism, signal pathway, as well as review lncRNA implications in malignant tumor.

LncRNA BRCAT54 inhibits the tumorigenesis of non-small cell lung cancer by binding to RPS9 to transcriptionally regulate JAK-STAT and calcium pathway genes

OBJECTIVES

Increasing evidence suggest that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play critical roles in cancers. However, the expression pattern and underlying mechanisms of lncRNAs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain incompletely understood. This study aimed to elucidate the functions and molecular mechanisms of a certain lncRNA in NSCLC.

METHODS

LncRNA microarray was performed to identify differential expressed lncRNAs between pre- and postoperation plasma in NSCLC patients. The expression level of candidate lncRNA in NSCLC tissues, plasma and cells was determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and in situ hybridization. The functional roles of lncRNA were assessed in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, RNA pull-down, RNA immunoprecipitation, microarray, qRT-PCR and rescue assays were conducted to explore the mechanism action of lncRNA in NSCLC cells.

RESULTS

We identified a novel lncRNA (BRCAT54), which was significantly upregulated in preoperative plasma, NSCLC tissues and NSCLC cells, and its higher expression was associated with better prognosis in patients with NSCLC. Overexpression of BRCAT54 inhibited proliferation, migration and activated apoptosis in NSCLC cells. Conversely, knockdown of BRCAT54 reversed the suppressive effects of BRCAT54. Moreover, overexpression of BRCAT54 repressed NSCLC cell growth in vivo. Mechanistically, BRCAT54 directly bound to RPS9. Knockdown of RPS9 substantially reversed the promoting effects of si-BRCAT54 on cell proliferation and enhanced the inhibitive effect of si-BRCAT54 on BRCAT54 expression. In addition, silencing of RPS9 activated JAK-STAT pathway and suppressed calcium signaling pathway gene expressions.

CONCLUSION

This study identified BRCAT54 as a tumor suppressor in NSCLC. Targeting the BRCAT54 and RPS9 feedback loop might be a novel therapeutic strategy for NSCLC.

Long non-coding RNAs as potential biomarkers in the prognosis and diagnosis of lung cancer: A review and target analysis

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) have been emerged as a novel class of molecular regulators in cancer. They are dysregulated in many types of cancer; however, there is not enough knowledge available on their expression and functional profiles. Lung cancer is the leading cause of the cancer deaths worldwide. Generally, lncRNAs may be associated with lung tumor pathogenesis and they may act as biomarkers for the cancer prognosis and diagnosis. Compared to other invasive prognostic and diagnostic methods, detection of lncRNAs might be a user-friendly and noninvasive method. In this review article, we selected 27 tumor-associated lncRNAs by literature reviewing to further discussing in detail for using as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in lung cancer. Also, in an in silico target analysis, the "Experimentally supported functional regulation" approach of the LncTarD web tool was used to identifying the target genes and regulatory mechanisms of the selected lncRNAs. The reports on diagnostic and prognostic potential of all selected lncRNAs were discussed. However, the target genes and regulatory mechanisms of the 22 lncRNAs were identified by in silico analysis and we found the pathways that are controlled by each target group of lncRNAs. They use epigenetic mechanisms, ceRNA mechanisms, protein interaction and sponge mechanism. Also, 10, 23, 5, and 28 target genes for each of these mechanisms were identified, respectively. Finally, each group of target genes controls 50, 12, 7, and 2 molecular pathways, respectively. In conclusion, LncRNAs could be used as biomarkers in lung cancer due to their roles in control of several signaling pathways related to lung tumors. Also, it seems that lncRNAs, which use epigenetic mechanisms for modulating a large number of pathways, could be considered as important subjects for lung cancer-related diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers.

Identification of lncRNA biomarkers for lung cancer through integrative cross-platform data analyses

This study was designed to identify lncRNA biomarker candidates using lung cancer data from RNA-Seq and microarray platforms separately.Lung cancer datasets were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO, n = 287) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA, n = 216) repositories, only common lncRNAs were used. Differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs in tumors with respect to normal were selected from the Affymetrix and TCGA datasets. A training model consisting of the top 20 DE Affymetrix lncRNAs was used for validation in the TCGA and Agilent datasets. A second similar training model was generated using the TCGA dataset.First, a model using the top 20 DE lncRNAs from Affymetrix for training and validated using TCGA and Agilent, achieved high prediction accuracy for both training (98.5% AUC for Affymetrix) and validation (99.2% AUC for TCGA and 92.8% AUC for Agilent). A similar model using the top 20 DE lncRNAs from TCGA for training and validated using Affymetrix and Agilent, also achieved high prediction accuracy for both training (97.7% AUC for TCGA) and validation (96.5% AUC for Affymetrix and 80.9% AUC for Agilent). Eight lncRNAs were found to be overlapped from these two lists.

[Serum level of lncRNA TUSC7 in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and its role in promoting tumor cell migration and invasion]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate serum levels of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) TUSC7 in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), its association with clinicopathological parameters and its role in promoting tumor metastasis and invasion.

METHODS

Serum samples were collected from 60 patients with ESCC admitted between January, 2017 and May, 2019, with 60 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects as the control group. Serum level of TUSC7 in ESCC patients and its expression in 4 ESCC cell lines was detected with RT-qPCR. The association of serum TUSC7 level with the clinicopathological features of the patients was analyzed. KYSE-30 cell models with TUSC7 overexpression or knockdown were established, and the proliferation of the cells was examined with MTT assay and their migration and invasion were assessed using wound healing and Transwell assays. Western blotting was used to detect the cellular expressions of the proteins associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

RESULTS

The patients with ESCC had significantly lower serum TUSC7 level than the healthy control subjects (P < 0.05). The ESCC cell lines also expressed lower levels of TUSC7 than normal cells (P < 0.05). Serum TUSC7 level was negatively correlated with tumor staging, lymph node metastasis and infiltration (P < 0.05) but was not significantly correlated with other clinicopathological parameters in ESCC patients. In the invitro cell experiment, overexpression of TUSC7 in KYSE-30 cells significantly inhibited cell migration and invasion (P < 0.05), enhanced the expression of the EMT marker protein E-cadherin and lowered the expressions of N-cadherin, Vimentin and MMP9 (P < 0.05); knocking down TUSC7 in the cells produced the opposite effects.

CONCLUSIONS

The down-regulation of TUSC7 expression in the serum of ESCC patients and in ESCC cell lines is associated with the metastasis of ESCC and promotes tumor cell migration and invasion by promoting EMT, indicating the potential of serum TUSC7 level as a molecular marker for diagnosis, treatment and metastasis monitoring of ESCC.

An Emerging Class of Long Non-coding RNA With Oncogenic Role Arises From the snoRNA Host Genes

The small nucleolar RNA host genes (SNHGs) are a group of long non-coding RNAs, which are reported in many studies as being overexpressed in various cancers. With very few exceptions, the SNHGs (SNHG1, SNHG3, SNHG5, SNHG6, SNHG7, SNHG12, SNHG15, SNHG16, SNHG20) are recognized as inducing increased proliferation, cell cycle progression, invasion, and metastasis of cancer cells, which makes this class of transcripts a viable biomarker for cancer development and aggressiveness. Through our literature research, we also found that silencing of SNHGs through small interfering RNAs or short hairpin RNAs is very effective in both in vitro and in vivo experiments by lowering the aggressiveness of solid cancers. The knockdown of SNHG as a new cancer therapeutic option should be investigated more in the future.

Noncoding RNAs and Liquid Biopsy in Lung Cancer: A Literature Review

Lung cancer represents a genetically heterogeneous disease with low survival rates. Recent data have evidenced key roles of noncoding RNAs in lung cancer initiation and progression. These functional RNA molecules that can act as both oncogenes and tumor suppressors may become future biomarkers and more efficient therapeutic targets. In the precision medicine era, circulating nucleic acids have the potential to reshape the management and prognosis of cancer patients. Detecting genomic alterations and level variations of circulating nucleic acids in liquid biopsy samples represents a noninvasive method for portraying tumor burden. Research is currently trying to validate the potential role of liquid biopsy in lung cancer screening, prognosis, monitoring of disease progression, and treatment response. However, this method requires complex detection assays, and implementation of plasma genotyping in clinical practice continues to be hindered by discrepancies that arise when compared to tissue genotyping. Understanding the genomic landscape of lung cancer is essential in order to provide useful and innovative research in the age of patient-tailored therapy. In this landscape, the noncoding RNAs play a crucial role due to their target genes that dramatically influence the tumor microenvironment and the response to therapy. This article addresses present and future possible roles of liquid biopsy in lung cancer. It also discusses how the complex role of noncoding RNAs in lung tumorigenesis could influence the management of this pathology.

Long non-coding RNA in lung cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Owing to the difficulty in early diagnosis and the lack of effective treatment strategies, the 5-year survival rates for lung cancer remain very low. With the development of whole genome and transcriptome sequencing technology, long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) has attracted increasing attention. LncRNAs regulate gene expression at the epigenetic, transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels and are widely involved in a variety of diseases, including tumorigenesis. In lung cancer studies, multiple differentially expressed lncRNAs have been identified; several lncRNAs were identified as oncogenic lncRNAs with tumor-driving effects, while other lncRNAs play a role in tumor inhibition and are called tumor-suppressive lncRNAs. These tumor-suppressive lncRNAs are involved in multiple physiological processes such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, and metastasis and thus participate in tumor progression. In this review, we discussed the oncogenic and tumor-suppressive lncRNAs in lung cancer, as well as their biological functions and regulatory mechanisms. Furthermore, we found the potential significance of lncRNAs in clinical diagnosis and treatment.

The prognostic value of long noncoding RNA SNHG16 on clinical outcomes in human cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Cancer has been a worldwide health problem with a high risk of morbidity and mortality, however ideal biomarkers for effective screening and diagnosis of cancer patients are still lacking. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 (SNHG16) is newly identified lncRNA with abnormal expression in several human malignancies. However, its prognostic value remains controversial. This meta-analysis aimed to synthesize available data to clarify the association between SNHG16 expression levels and clinical prognosis value in multiple cancers.

METHODS

Extensive literature retrieval was conducted to identify eligible studies, and data regarding SNHG16 expression levels on survival outcomes and clinicopathological features were extracted and pooled for calculation of the hazard ratios (HRs) or odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Forest plots were applied to show the association between SNHG16 expression and survival prognosis. Additionally, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset was screened and extracted for validation of the results in this meta-analysis.

RESULTS

A total of eight studies comprising 568 patients were included in the final meta-analysis according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. In the pooled analysis, high SNHG16 expression significantly predicted worse overall survival (OS) in various cancers (HR = 1.87, 95% CI 1.54-2.26, P < 0.001), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in bladder cancer (HR = 1.68, 95% CI 1.01-2.79, P = 0.045). Meanwhile, stratified analyses revealed that the survival analysis method, tumor type, sample size, and cut-off value did not alter the predictive value of SNHG16 for OS in cancer patients. In addition, compared to the low SNHG16 expression group, patients with high SNHG16 expression were more prone to worse clinicopathological features, such as larger tumor size, advanced clinical stage, lymph node metastasis (LNM) and distant metastasis (DM). Exploration of TCGA dataset further validated that the upregulated SNHG16 expression predicted unfavorable OS and disease-free survival (DFS) in cancer patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study implicated that aberrant expression of lncRNA SNHG16 was strongly associated with clinical survival outcomes in various cancers, and therefore might serve as a promising biomarker for predicting prognosis of human cancers.

Long non-coding RNA SNHG16 promotes proliferation and inhibits apoptosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cells by targeting miR-497-5p/PIM1 axis

The aberrant expression and dysfunction of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified as critical factors governing the initiation and progression of different human cancers, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). LncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 (SNHG16) has been recognized as a tumour-promoting factor in various types of cancer. However, the biological role of SNHG16 and its underlying mechanism are still unknown in DLBCL. Here we disclosed that SNHG16 was overexpressed in DLBCL tissues and the derived cell lines. SNHG16 knockdown significantly suppressed cell proliferation and cell cycle progression, and it induced apoptosis of DLBCL cells in vitro. Furthermore, silencing of SNHG16 markedly repressed in vivo growth of OCI-LY7 cells. Mechanistically, SNHG16 directly interacted with miR-497-5p by acting as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) and inversely regulated the abundance of miR-497-5p in DLBCL cells. Moreover, the proto-oncogene proviral integration site for Moloney murine leukaemia virus 1 (PIM1) was identified as a novel direct target of miR-497-5p. SNHG16 overexpression rescued miR-497-5p-induced down-regulation of PIM1 in DLBCL cells. Importantly, restoration of PIM1 expression reversed SNHG16 knockdown-induced inhibition of proliferation, G0/G1 phase arrest and apoptosis of OCI-LY7 cells. Our study suggests that the SNHG16/miR-497-5p/PIM1 axis may provide promising therapeutic targets for DLBCL progression.

Diagnostic efficacy of long non-coding RNA in lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The detection of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is a novel method for lung cancer diagnosis. However, the diagnostic efficacy of lncRNA in different studies is inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to elucidate the diagnostic efficacy of lncRNA in identification of lung cancer including small cell lung cancer. The online PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, CNKI and Wanfang literature databases were searched to identify all related articles about the diagnostic efficacy of lncRNA for lung cancer. 28 articles including 3044 patients with lung cancer and 2598 controls were enrolled in our meta-analysis. lncRNA sustained a high diagnostic efficacy, pooled sensitivity of 0.82 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.84), specificity of 0.82 (95% CI 0.78 to 0.84) and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.88 (95% CI 0.85 to 0.91) in identification of patients with lung cancer from controls. Furthermore, the diagnostic efficacy of paralleled lncRNA was better than single lncRNA (sensitivity: 0.86 vs 0.80; specificity: 0.88 vs 0.78; AUC: 0.93 vs 0.86). MALAT1 had a better diagnostic efficacy than GAS5 (AUC: 0.90 vs 0.81; sensitivity: 0.83 vs 0.70; specificity: 0.83 vs 0.78). lncRNA in tissues was observed to achieve lower diagnostic efficacy than that in plasma or serum (AUC: 0.87 vs 0.90 vs 0.90) when stratified by sample types. In summary, our meta-analysis suggests that lncRNA might be a promising biomarker(s) for identifying lung cancer and the combination of lncRNA or with other biomarkers had a better diagnostic efficacy.

Enhanced expression of the long non-coding RNA SNHG16 contributes to gastric cancer progression and metastasis

This paper aimed to probe into the expression of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) SNHG16 in human gastric cancer (GC) and its potential tumor biological functions. The expression of lncRNA SNHG16 was detected in GC and adjacent tissues and GC cell lines using qRT-PCR. GC MGC-803 cells were transfected with siRNA of lncRNA SNHG16, as well as blank and negative control. A series of experiments including CCK-8, flow cytometry, transwell, and wound healing assay were adopted to evaluate the effects of lncRNA SNHG16 on cell growth and metastasis. Besides, the nude mouse xenograft tumor model was established to draw tumor growth curve and measure tumor volume during treatments. TUNEL staining was used to determine the apoptosis rate of tissues. The expression of lncRNA SNHG16 in GC tissue, significantly associated with invasion depth, lymph node metastasis, TNM stage and histological differentiation (all P< 0.05), was upregulated compared with adjacent tissues. Transfected with siRNA of lncRNA SNHG16 inhibited GC MGC-803 cell proliferation, and arrested cells in the G0/G1 phase, and then promoted apoptosis rate with reduced cell invasion and shortened migration distance. Additionally, the nude mice xenograft presented lower tumor growth rate and weight loss alongside elevated apoptosis rate of tumor tissues. LncRNA SNHG16 is highly expressed in GC, while suppression of SNHG16 expression can inhibit proliferation, weaken invasion and migration of GC cells, and enhance apoptosis, to be a novel target for GC clinical treatment.

A Plasma Long Noncoding RNA Signature for Early Detection of Lung Cancer

The early detection of lung cancer is a major clinical challenge. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have important functions in tumorigenesis. Plasma lncRNAs directly released from primary tumors or the circulating cancer cells might provide cell-free cancer biomarkers. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the lncRNAs could be used as plasma biomarkers for early-stage lung cancer. By using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction, we determined the diagnostic performance of 26 lung cancer–associated lncRNAs in plasma of a development cohort of 63 lung cancer patients and 33 cancer-free individuals, and a validation cohort of 39 lung cancer patients and 28 controls. In the development cohort, 7 of the 26 lncRNAs were reliably measured in plasma. Two (SNHG1 and RMRP) displayed a considerably high plasma level in lung cancer patients vs. cancer-free controls (all P < .001). Combined use of the plasma lncRNAs as a biomarker signature produced 84.13% sensitivity and 87.88% specificity for diagnosis of lung cancer, independent of stage and histological type of lung tumor, and patients' age and sex (all P > .05). The diagnostic value of the plasma lncRNA signature for lung cancer early detection was confirmed in the validation cohort. The plasma lncRNA signature may provide a potential blood-based assay for diagnosing lung cancer at the early stage. Nevertheless, a prospective study is warranted to validate its clinical value.

The lncRNA MIR4435-2HG promotes lung cancer progression by activating β-catenin signalling

Recently, emerging evidence has suggested that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have crucial roles in cancer progression. Here, we demonstrated that the lncRNA MIR4435-2HG was highly expressed in lung cancer tissues and correlated with histological grades and lymph node metastasis. Phenotypic analysis indicated that MIR4435-2HG knockdown inhibited lung cancer cell proliferation and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Notably, MIR4435-2HG knockdown suppressed the EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition) process and cancer stem cell traits of lung cancer cells. Mechanistically, MIR4435-2HG knockdown decreased the transactivation of β-catenin. MIR4435-2HG interacted with β-catenin and thus prevented its degradation by the proteasome system. Our findings highlight the important roles and mechanisms of MIR4435-2HG in lung cancer progression. High expression of lncRNA MIR4435-2HG correlates with lung cancer progression MIR4435-2HG promotes lung cancer cells proliferation and invasion MIR4435-2HG knockdown suppresses the EMT process and cancer stem cell traits MIR4435-2HG knockdown inhibits the β-catenin signalling.

Prognostic and clinicopathological value of long noncoding RNA XIST in cancer

BACKGROUND

It has been reported that lncRNA X-inactive specific transcript (XIST) is dysregulated in various cancers. We performed this meta-analysis to clarify its promising functions as a prognosis marker in malignant tumors.

METHODS

Eligible studies were recruited by a systematic search in OVID, Embase, Web of Science and PubMed databases. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to explore the relationship between lncRNA XIST expression and patient's survival, which were extracted from the eligible studies. The odds ratio (OR) was calculated to assess the association between lncRNA XIST expression and pathological parameters using stata12.0 software.

RESULTS

Total 10 studies and 878 cancer patients were included in the study. The pooled HR suggested that high lncRNA XIST expression was significantly correlated with poor overall survival (OS) (HR=2.61, 95% CI=1.91-3.13, P<0.0001) and short disease-free survival (DFS) (HR=2.10, 95% CI=1.10-3.11, P<0.0001). It was demonstrated high level of lncRNA XIST was positively correlated with larger tumor size (OR=1.89, 95% CI 1.34-2.06, P<0.001), positive distant metastasis (OR=1.75, 95% CI 1.03-2.96, P=0.038) and high-grade cancer (OR=1.64, 95% CI 1.22-2.21, P<0.001). However, no correlation was observed between expression of lncRNA XIST and age (OR=0.86, 95% CI 0.62-1.19, P=0.352), gender (OR=0.98, 95% CI 0.73-1.33, P=0.769), lymphatic metastasis (OR=1.41, 95% CI 0.97-2.04, P=0.069) and differentiation (OR=1.16, 95% CI 0.76-1.77, P=0.497).

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis demonstrated that elevated lncRNA XIST expression predicts poor OS, poor DFS, larger tumor size, increased distant metastasis and advanced tumor stage, suggesting that high lncRNA XIST expression may serve as a novel biomarker for poor prognosis and metastasis in cancers.

Long non-coding RNA HOTAIR acts as a competing endogenous RNA to promote glioma progression by sponging miR-126-5p

LncRNA HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) has been shown to play prominent roles in tumorigenesis. However, its precise molecular mechanism in glioma has not been completely elucidated. In this study, we found that HOTAIR was aberrantly up-regulated in glioma tissues and was negatively correlated with miR-126-5p expression. Next, we determined that HOTAIR promote glioma progression by sponging miR-126-5p. Subsequently, glutaminase (GLS) was confirmed to be a direct target of miR-126-5p using bioinformatics software and a luciferase reporter assay. Moreover, HOTAIR could modulate GLS expression by functioning as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-126-5p. Taken together, our study clarified that the HOTAIR/miR-126/GLS pathway is involved in glioma progression and may potentially serve as a target for glioma therapy.

The long non-coding RNA AK001796 contributes to tumor growth via regulating expression of p53 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Background

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the prevalent and deadly cancers worldwide, especially in China. Considering the poor prognosis of ESCC, the aim of this study is to dissect the effects of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) AK001796 on cell proliferation and cell cycle in vitro and tumorigenicity in vivo, providing therapeutic targets for ESCC.

Methods

We conducted quantitative real time PCR to detect the expression level of lncRNA AK001796 in human ESCC tumor and adjacent non-tumor tissues, and analyzed the correlation between lncRNA AK001796 expression and clinicopathologic feature of ESCC patients. Then we knocked down the expression of lncRNA AK001796 in human ESCC cell lines Eca-109 and TE-1, and next inspected cell cycle and apoptosis condition in these cells using flow cytometry. Subsequently, we used CCK-8 assay to test proliferation ability of the lncRNA AK001796-silenced ESCC cells, and the MDM2/p53 signaling pathway in these cells was analyzed by western blot analysis. At last, the ESCC xenograft models were established to verify the role of lncRNA AK001796 on the occurrence and development of ESCC.

Results

In this study, we demonstrated that lncRNA AK001796 was significantly upregulated in ESCC tumor tissues compared to adjacent non-tumor tissues. Knockdown of lncRNA AK001796 inhibited ESCC cell growth, cell cycle, and tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model via regulating MDM2/p53 signal pathway. The expression of lncRNA AK001796 was positively correlated with MDM2 levels in human ESCC samples.

Conclusions

Overall, lncRNA AK001796 regulates cell proliferation and cell cycle via modulating MDM2/p53 signaling in ESCC, which provides a new insight into the treatment targets for ESCC.

Trial registration This study was registrated in the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University (Trial registration: 2012-SR-127, Registered 20 January 2012)

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12935-018-0537-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Accuracy of the urine UCA1 for diagnosis of bladder cancer: a meta-analysis

Urine UCA1 has been reported as a potential novel diagnostic biomarker for bladder cancer in several studies, but their results are inconsistent. As a result of this, a diagnostic meta-analysis to assess the diagnostic performance of urine UCA1 in detecting bladder cancer was conducted. A systematic electronic and manual search was performed for relevant literatures through PubMed, Cochrane library, Chinese Wan Fang and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases up to December 30, 2016. The quality of the studies included in this meta-analysis was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool. All analyses were conducted using stata12.0 software. Six studies collectively included 578 bladder cancer patients and 562 controls met the eligible criteria. The overall diagnostic accuracy was measured by the following: sensitivity 0.81 (95% CI = 0.75-0.86), specificity 0.86 (95% CI = 0.73-0.93), positive likelihood ratio 5.85 (95% CI = 2.72-12.57), negative likelihood 0.22 (95% CI = 0.15-0.32), diagnostic odds ratio 27.01 (95% CI = 8.69-83.97), and area under the curve 0.88 (95% CI = 0.85-0.91). Meta-regression analysis suggested that ethnicity significantly accounted for the heterogeneity of sensitivity. Deeks' funnel plot asymmetry test (P = 0.33) suggested no potential publication bias. According to our results, urine UCA1 has greater diagnostic value in diagnosing bladder cancer, however further research studies with more well-designed and large sample sizes are required to confirm our findings.

Diagnostic significance of circulating long noncoding RNA PCAT6 in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Aim

We have previously shown that the long noncoding RNA prostate cancer-associated transcript 6 (PCAT6) promoted the proliferation and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) cells. In this study, the diagnostic significance of tissue and serum PCAT6 was evaluated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials and methods

Tissue expression of PCAT6 was systematically evaluated in five Gene Expression Omnibus datasets (GSE19804, GSE18842, GSE30219, GSE19188, and GSE27262). Circulating and tissue expressions of PCAT6 were detected by quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in NSCLC patients from Union Hospital.

Results

PCAT6 was significantly increased in lung cancer tissues and could be used to distinguish LUAD from adjacent normal tissues with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.9210 (p<0.0001; sensitivity, 98.82%; specificity, 78.57%) in GSE30219, 0.9333 (p<0.0001; sensitivity, 86.67%; specificity, 90.77%) in GSE19188, 0.9584 (p<0.0001; sensitivity, 92.00%; specificity, 96.00%) in GSE27262, and 0.9574 (p<0.0001; sensitivity, 95.89%; specificity, 87.67%) in patients from Union Hospital. As for lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), the AUC of PCAT6 was 0.9567 (p<0.0001; sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 85.71%) in GSE30219, 0.9795 (p<0.0001; sensitivity, 96.30%; specificity, 92.31%) in GSE19188, and 0.9942 (p<0.0001; sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 98.04%) in patients from Union Hospital. We further noticed that the plasma levels of PCAT6 were significantly increased in 73 LUAD and 51 LUSC patients compared with 39 healthy controls (p<0.0001). The AUC of circulating PCAT6 was 0.9213 (p<0.0001; sensitivity, 87.67%; specificity, 97.44%) in LUAD and 0.9583 (p<0.0001; sensitivity, 94.12%; specificity, 100%) in LUSC.

Conclusion

Together with our previous findings, our results suggest that PCAT6 could be used as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in NSCLC.

Long non-coding RNA P4713 contributes to the malignant phenotypes of oral squamous cell carcinoma by activating the JAK/STAT3 pathway

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common and aggressively malignant tumor of the head and neck region. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important regulatory molecules in many types of cancer. However, there are limited studies on the role of lncRNAs in OSCC. In this study, we identified that lncRNA P4713 was one of the most up-regulated lncRNAs in OSCC by exploring the expression profile of lncRNAs/mRNAs in four pairs of OSCC samples and adjacent non-cancer tissues. In addition, silencing of P4713 inhibited OSCC proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Furthermore, through bioinformatics analysis and functional experiments, we found that decreased P4713 expression affected the expression and phosphorylation of Janus Kinase (JAK) 2 and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3. Taken together, the results suggest that P4713 contributes to OSCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion by activating the JAK/STAT3 pathway. Accordingly, this molecule could be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target in the treatment of OSCC.

LncRNA AK054921 and AK128652 are potential serum biomarkers and predictors of patient survival with alcoholic cirrhosis

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one of the leading causes of chronic liver disease. Recent studies have demonstrated the roles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the pathogenesis of several disease processes. However, the roles of lncRNAs in patients with ALD remain unexplored. Global profiling for human lncRNAs from peripheral blood RNA was performed in a well‐characterized cohort of healthy controls (HC; n = 4), excessive drinkers (ED) without liver disease (n = 4), and those with alcoholic cirrhosis (AC) with different severities (n = 12). The expression of unique lncRNA signatures were validated in a separate cohort of HC (n = 17), ED (n = 19), AC (n = 48), and human liver tissues with ALD (n = 19). A detailed analysis of plasma lncRNAs in AC subjects with different severities compared with HC identified 244 commonly up‐regulated lncRNAs and 181 commonly down‐regulated lncRNAs. We further validated top 20 most differentially up‐ and down‐regulated lncRNAs in ED and AC compared with HC and also determined the expression of selected lncRNAs in human liver tissues with or without AC. Among those lncRNAs, AK128652 and AK054921 were two of the most abundantly expressed lncRNAs in normal human plasma and liver, and their levels were significantly elevated in AC. The prognostic significance of AK128652 and AK054921 was determined in 48 subjects with AC who were followed prospectively for 520 days. The expression of AK128652 and AK054921 was inversely associated with survival in patients with AC. Conclusion: lncRNAs AK054921 and AK128652 are potential biomarkers to predict the progression to ALD in individuals with excessive alcohol consumption and are predictors of survival in patients with AC. (Hepatology Communications 2017;1:513–523)