Long noncoding RNA B3GALT5-AS1 suppresses colon cancer liver metastasis via repressing microRNA-203

New twists on long noncoding RNAs: from mobile elements to motile cancer cells

The purpose of this review is to highlight several areas of lncRNA biology and cancer that we hope will provide some new insights for future research. These include the relationship of lncRNAs and the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) with a focus on transcriptional and alternative splicing mechanisms and mRNA stability through miRNAs. In addition, we highlight the potential role of enhancer e-lncRNAs, the importance of transposable elements in lncRNA biology, and finally the emerging area of using antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and small molecules to target lncRNAs and their therapeutic implications.

Serum level of long noncoding RNA B3GALT5-AS1 as a diagnostic biomarker of colorectal cancer

Aim: Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) B3GALT5-AS1 has been reported as a biomarker for cancer monitoring. This research aims to identify serum long noncoding RNA B3GALT5-AS1 as a new biomarker for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) and evaluate its clinical value. Materials & methods: Serum B3GALT5-AS1 expression levels were measured by quantitative real-time PCR. Results: The level of B3GALT5-AS1 in CRC patients was significantly lower than that of healthy patients (p < 0.0001). Further exploration validated that high serum B3GALT5-AS1 level was related to tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage (p = 0.008) and histological differentiation (p = 0.027). Compared with the healthy control group, AUC^ROC of serum B3GALT5-AS1 in the CRC group was 0.762 with 95% CI: 0.698-0.826 (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: B3GALT5-AS1 may be served as a diagnostic marker for distinguishing CRC patients from healthy people.

MicroRNAs Associated With Colon Cancer: New Potential Prognostic Markers and Targets for Therapy

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a kind of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) that regulate the expression of target genes and play a role in the occurrence and development of cancers. Colon cancer (COAD) is the second most common cause of cancer-related mortality. However, the prognostic value of miRNAs in COAD is still confusing. In this study, we obtain miRNAs and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) expression profiles of COAD from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. After preliminary data screening and preprocessing, we acquire the expression data of 894 miRNAs and 17,019 mRNAs. Then, compared with the normal samples, 39 upregulated miRNAs and 54 downregulated miRNAs are identified by differential expression analysis. Furthermore, we obtain 1,487 upregulated mRNAs and 2,847 downregulated mRNAs. We confirm nine key miRNAs related to the survival rate of COAD patients. Moreover, by using bioinformatics methods, we get 461 common genes from both the target genes of these nine key miRNAs and differentially expressed mRNAs. Through analyzing the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of these 461 common genes and survival analysis, we confirm five hub genes as promising biomarkers for COAD prognosis. It is worth mentioning that no previous reports have found that PGR and KCNB1 are related to COAD. We expect these key miRNAs and hub genes will provide a new way for the study of COAD.

MicroRNA-215-3p Suppresses the Growth, Migration, and Invasion of Colorectal Cancer by Targeting FOXM1

Previous investigations have indicated that microRNA-215-3p is dysregulated in many kinds of cancers and functions as oncogene or tumor suppressor. However, the potential role of microRNA-215-3p in the progression of colorectal cancer remains not well known. Herein, we demonstrated that microRNA-215-3p was downregulated in human colorectal cancer tissues and was reversely correlated to the lymph node metastasis of colorectal cancer. Overexpression of microRNA-215-3p inhibited the clonogenic abilities and metastasis-relevant traits of colorectal cancer cell in vitro. Consistently, upregulation of microRNA-215-3p inhibited the growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer cell in vivo. Forkhead box protein M1 was identified as a direct target of microRNA-215-3p and reexpression of forkhead box protein M1 reversed the suppressive impacts of microRNA-215-3p on the growth, mobility, and invasion abilities of colorectal cancer cell. Altogether, these results revealed the vital role of microRNA-215-3p in the tumorigenesis and metastasis of colorectal cancer.

The pivotal role and mechanism of long non-coding RNA B3GALT5-AS1 in the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis

The present study planned to dig the potential impacts of long non-coding RNA B3GALT5-AS1 in acute pancreatitis (AP). A total of 66 patients who were diagnosed with AP using ultrasonic imaging were enrolled in the study. Expression levels of B3GALT5-AS1 in the serum of AP patients were determined. Afterwards, rat pancreatic AR42J acinar cells were disposed with caerulein to produce AP-like injury. The role and molecular mechanisms of B3GALT5-AS1 in AP were explored through in vitro cell experiments. The levels of lncRNA B3GALT5-AS1 were observed to be lessened in patients with AP relative to healthy controls. In addition, caerulein was observed to induce injuries in the AR42J cells (depressed cell viability, enhanced cell apoptosis, cytokines production, and levels of amylase). Overexpression of B3GALT5-AS1 alleviated the caerulein-produced injury in the AR42J cells. Moreover, it was determined that miR-203 showed a downside expression by B3GALT5-AS1 regulation, and the overexpression of B3GALT5-AS1 retrained caerulein-produced injury through the suppression of miR-203. In addition, it was observed that miR-203 lessened the level of nuclear factor interleukin-3 (NFIL3) and that NFIL3 was targeted by miR-203. Lastly, the impacts of B3GALT5-AS1 on caerulein-induced cell injury were manifested through the NF-κB signalling pathway. The data from the present study revealed that in patients with AP, B3GALT5-AS1 is expressed in reduced amounts. Overexpression of B3GALT5-AS1 may alleviate caerulein-induced cell injury in AR42J cells through the regulation of miR-203/NFIL3 axis and by inhibiting the activation of the NF-κB signals.

Long noncoding RNA TP73-AS1 in human cancers

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in tumor development. With the development of sequencing technology, many new lncRNAs have been discovered. lncRNA TP73-AS1 is abnormally expressed in many cancers. A summary of the current literature related to TP73-AS1 reveals that TP73-AS1 mainly regulates the occurrence and development of tumors through the mechanism of competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA). In addition, the abnormal expression of TP73-AS1 can regulate the malignant function of tumor cells through a variety of possible mechanisms. All evidence suggests that TP73-AS1 may be a potential diagnostic biomarker or a new cancer therapeutic target.

Comprehensive analysis of the long noncoding RNA expression profile and construction of the lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network in colorectal cancer

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to play important roles in various tumors including colorectal cancer (CRC). Here, we obtained data from RNA-sequencing analysis using 3 paired of CRC tissues and corresponding normal tissues. Through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses, the biological functions of these dysregulated genes were identified. Moreover, we analyzed the expression levels of lncRNA PGM5-AS1 and B3GALT5-AS1 by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay. To evaluate the accuracy of the lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network we built, we also detected PGM5 expression and analyzed the relationship between PGM5-AS1 and PGM5 in CRC. In addition, we explored the potential function of PGM5-AS1 in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, we identified dysregulated lncRNAs and constructed the lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network in CRC. Then, we showed that the expression levels of PGM5-AS1, B3GALT5-AS1 and PGM5 were significantly downregulated in CRC tissues compared with corresponding normal tissues. Besides, PGM5-AS1 expression was positively associated with PGM5 expression. These findings were consistent with our RNA-sequencing data. Functionally, overexpression of PGM5-AS1 could induce cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in CRC. Animal study indicated that PGM5-AS1 overexpression inhibited CRC growth in vivo. This work provides dysregulated lncRNAs as candidates for further study in CRC. The lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network brings novel insights into further function research. More importantly, PGM5-AS1 is a critical tumor suppressor in CRC.

Insights into Biological Role of LncRNAs in Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are versatile regulators of gene expression and play crucial roles in diverse biological processes. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a cellular program that drives plasticity during embryogenesis, wound healing, and malignant progression. Increasing evidence shows that lncRNAs orchestrate multiple cellular processes by modulating EMT in diverse cell types. Dysregulated lncRNAs that can impact epithelial plasticity by affecting different EMT markers and target genes have been identified. However, our understanding of the landscape of lncRNAs important in EMT is far from complete. Here, we summarize recent findings on the mechanisms and roles of lncRNAs in EMT and elaborate on how lncRNAs can modulate EMT by interacting with RNA, DNA, or proteins in epigenetic, transcriptional, and post-transcriptional regulation. This review also highlights significant EMT pathways that may be altered by diverse lncRNAs, thereby suggesting their therapeutic potential.

Abnormally expressed long noncoding RNA B3GALT5-AS1 may serve as a biomarker for the diagnostic and prognostic of gastric cancer

Early diagnosis of gastric cancer (GC) is an effective method to improve prognosis. Increasing number of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported as biomarkers for several cancers. We aim to detect the level of lncRNA B3GALT5-AS1 and its association with clinical parameters and to further explore its application value in GC. We measured serum B3GALT5-AS1 expression in 107 patients with GC, 40 polyp patients, and 87 normal controls to explore the significance of serum B3GALT5-AS1 in GC using the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction method. The result demonstrated that B3GALT5-AS1 level was markedly richer in GC patients than that in normal people (P < .001). B3GALT5-AS1 may be served as a diagnostic marker for distinguishing GC patients from healthy people, and the proportion under the receiver operating characteristics curve is 0.816 (95% confidence interval, 0.758-0.874; P = .03). Further exploration validated that high serum B3GALT5-AS1 level was related to TNM stage (P = .024), and lymph node metastasis (P = .023). Our study suggested that serum B3GALT5-AS1 may be employed as an ideal biomarker for early screening of GC.

Long noncoding-RNA component of mitochondrial RNA processing endoribonuclease is involved in the progression of cholangiocarcinoma by regulating microRNA-217

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a malignant tumor originating from bile duct epithelium and its incidence is increasing year by year. In recent years, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to play an important role in the occurrence and progression of malignant tumors. In the present study, for the first time, abnormal expression of lnc‐RNA component of mitochondrial RNA processing endoribonuclease (RMRP) and its possible role in CCA were found. We explored the effects of RMRP on various behaviors of CCA cells in vitro and in vivo. In addition, by second‐generation sequencing, we explored the microRNA expression profiles that RMRP may affect in the HCCC‐9810 cell line. We also validated and explored the role of microRNA‐217 (miR‐217) with high differential expression by in vitro experiments. Our findings indicated that RMRP can play a part in promoting cancer by regulating the expression of miR‐217. RMRP is involved in the progression of CCA and can be a novel indicator of poor prognosis in patients with CCA.

LINC00261 suppresses human colon cancer progression via sponging miR-324-3p and inactivating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway

Growing evidence indicates long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are significant regulators in the progression of various malignant tumors including colon cancer. Dysregulation of lncRNA LINC00261 has been identified in many cancers. Investigations on LINC00261 function have revealed that LINC00261 could act as a crucial tumor suppressor in various cancers. But, the biological involvement of LINC00261 in colon cancer is still barely known. Here, we found LINC00261 was reduced in colon cancer cells. Meanwhile, overexpressed LINC00261 repressed colon cancer cell viability and proliferation capacity. In addition, colony cancer cell colony formation was inhibited and apoptosis was enhanced by upregulation of LINC00261. Also, colon cancer cell migration and invasion both were restrained by LINC00261. miR-324-3p can exert important functions in several carcinomas, but its role in colon cancer is uninvestigated. In the current study, miR-324-3p was examined and miR-324-3p was greatly increased in colon cancer cells. Moreover, the association between miR-324-3p and LINC00261 was confirmed via performing RNA immunoprecipitation and RNA-pull-down experiments. In cancer biology, aberrant modulation of the Wnt signaling pathway remains a prevalent theme. Overexpression of LINC00261 obviously impaired colon cancer progression via inactivating the Wnt pathway. Furthermore, in the xenograft model assay, an increase of LINC00261 could suppress colon tumor growth via sponging miR-324-3p and inactivating the Wnt pathway. Overall, our results showed that LINC00261 repressed colon cancer progression via regulating miR-324-3p and the Wnt pathway. LINC00261 could be established as a novel therapeutic target for colon cancer.