LncRNA GIHCG Promotes the Development of Esophageal Cancer by Modulating miR-29b-3p/ANO1 Axis

Background

Esophageal cancer is one of the most frequent cancers with a higher mortality worldwide. Although many long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) are reported to play important roles in the progression of esophageal cancer, the function of lncRNA GIHCG in esophageal cancer remains unclear.

Methods

The expression of GIHCG in esophageal cancer tissues and cancer cell lines was detected by qRT-PCR. Cell proliferation was evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, EdU staining assay and colony formation assay. Cell invasion and migration were measured by transwell assay. Cell apoptosis was detected by a flow cytometer. Luciferase reporter assay and RIP assay were used to determine the interaction between GIHCG and miR-29b-3p, and their subsequent regulation of anoctamin 1 (ANO1). The expression of ANO1 in esophageal cancer tissues and cell lines was detected by Western blot. The effect of GIHCG/miR-29b-3p in tumor formation was assessed by the xenograft nude mice model in vivo.

Results

GIHCG was significantly upregulated in esophageal cancer tissues and relevant cancer cell lines. Downregulation of GIHCG significantly inhibited the growth, colony formation, invasion, migration and induced apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells in vitro. Bioinformatic analysis and RIP assay determined that GIHCG was a sponge of miR-29b-3p, and ANO1 was a direct target of miR-29b-3p. Moreover, functional experiments showed that GIHCG upregulated ANO1 expression by directly sponging miR-29b-3p. Furthermore, in vivo experiment revealed that knockdown of GIHCG significantly inhibited tumor growth in nude mice.

Conclusion

Our study revealed that lncRNA GIHCG promoted the progression of esophageal cancer by targeting the miR-29b-3p/ANO1 axis, suggesting that GIHCG might be a novel therapeutic target for esophageal cancer.

Overexpression of GIHCG is Associated with a Poor Prognosis and Immune Infiltration in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Purpose

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed digestive cancers and the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) with key roles in HCC development and progression have emerged and are used in the diagnosis and prognostic prediction of HCC. The lncRNA gradually increased during hepatocarcinogenesis (GIHCG) is a novel lncRNA with aberrant expression in many tumors, but its prognostic value and biological role in HCC have not been fully studied. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the expression pattern and potential biological role of GIHCG in HCC.

Patients and Methods

The expression pattern of GIHCG in HCC was analyzed in our HCC cohort and validated in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. To assess the prognostic value of GIHCG, survival analyses and Cox regression analyses were carried out in two HCC cohorts. Functional enrichment analysis was used to predict the gene sets and pathways related to aberrant GIHCG expression. Furthermore, the relationship between GIHCG expression and immune infiltration in HCC was analyzed.

Results

GIHCG was highly expressed in HCC tissues compared with normal liver tissues. In addition, high GIHCG expression was significantly correlated with inferior clinicopathological characteristics and shorter survival times. High GIHCG expression was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival and disease-free survival in the HCC cohort in our center and in the TCGA-LIHC cohort. Hallmark terms such as “G2M checkpoint”, “MYC targets” and “DNA repair” were enriched in the GIHCG high-expression groups. High GIHCG expression negatively correlated with the infiltration of memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, natural killer cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, neutrophils and monocytes.

Conclusion

The findings of our study indicate that GIHCG is a biomarker that can be used to predict the prognosis of HCC patients and is correlated with immune cell infiltration in HCC.

World Workshop on Oral Medicine VII: Functional pathways involving differentially expressed lncRNAs in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) modulate gene expression at the epigenetic, transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels and are involved in tumorigenesis. They can form complex secondary and tertiary structures and have been shown to act as precursors, enhancers, reservoirs and decoys in the complex endogenous RNA network. They were first reported in relation to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in 2013. Here, we summarise the functional roles and pathways of the most commonly studied lncRNAs in OSCC. Existing research demonstrates the involvement of lncRNA within pivotal pathways leading to the development and spread of OSCC, including interactions with key cancer-associated microRNAs such as miR-21. The number of studies on lncRNA and OSCC remains limited in this new field. As evidence grows, the tissue-specific expression patterns of lncRNAs should further advance our understanding of the altered regulatory networks in OSCC and possibly reveal new biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Lnc-GIHCG promotes cell proliferation and migration in gastric cancer through miR- 1281 adsorption

Background

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are from the family of noncoding RNAs. Existing studies have shown that lncRNAs are involved in many biological processes and are strongly related to the occurrence and development of tumors. Recent studies have indicated that lncRNA GIHCG participates in the progression of many cancers by adjusting cell proliferation and migration. Gastric cancer (GC) is a prevalent malignant tumor that arises from gastric epithelium. This study mainly explored the influence of GIHCG on GC and its underlying mechanism.

Methods

GIHCG expression was detected in GC through quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction while the relationship of GIHCG with miR‐1281 and miR‐1281 with TLE1 was verified using dual luciferase reporter gene assay. The influence of GIHCG, miR‐1281 and TLE1 on cell function was verified using cell counting Kit‐8 (CCK‐8) and Transwell experiment.

Results

In GC, GIHCG was significantly overexpressed and significantly increased cell proliferation and migration, with the possible mechanism of upregulatingTLE1 expression through adsorption of miR‐1281.

Conclusion

Taken together, we revealed the role of GIHCG/miR‐1281/TLE1 in GC and provided a new perspective.

Long noncoding RNA GIHCG enhanced tongue squamous cell carcinoma progression through regulating miR-429

Long noncoding RNAs play essential roles in cancer development and progression. Here, we tried to investigate the role of GIHCG in the progression and metastasis of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC). In our study, we showed that that the expression level of GIHCG was upregulated in TSCC tissues and cell lines. In addition, we indicated that high GIHCG expression was positively associated with poor overall survival. Moreover, ectopic expression of GIHCG enhanced TSCC cell cycle, proliferation, and migration. Elevated expression of GIHCG inhibited the miR-429 expression in TSCC cells. We demonstrated that the expression level of miR-429 was lower in TSCC tissues and cell lines. Low miR-429 expression was positively associated with poor overall survival. We then determined the correlation between miR-429 and GIHCG expression levels. A statistically significantly inverse correlation was observed between miR-429 and GIHCG expression levels in TSCC tissues. In addition, overexpression of miR-429 suppressed the TSCC cell cycle, proliferation, and migration. Elevated expression of GIHCG promoted TSCC cell cycle, proliferation, and migration through regulating miR-429 expression. These results suggested that GIHCG increased TSCC progression through negative modulation of miR-429. Our results suggested that GIHCG/miR-429 might play a vital role in TSCC progression.