Long non-coding RNA HOXA11 antisense RNA upregulates spermatogenesis-associated serine-rich 2-like to enhance cisplatin resistance in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma by suppressing microRNA-518a

Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of microRNAs in Patients with Laryngeal Cancer: A Systematic Review

Laryngeal squamous cell cancer (LSCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors of the head and neck region, with a poor survival rate (5-year overall survival 50-80%) as a consequence of an advanced-stage diagnosis and high recurrence rate. Tobacco smoking and alcohol abuse are the main risk factors of LSCC development. An early diagnosis of LSCC, a prompt detection of recurrence and a more precise monitoring of the efficacy of different treatment modalities are currently needed to reduce the mortality. Therefore, the identification of effective diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for LSCC is crucial to guide disease management and improve clinical outcomes. In the past years, a dysregulated expression of small non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), has been reported in many human cancers, including LSCC, and many miRNAs have been explored for their diagnostic and prognostic potential and proposed as biomarkers. We searched electronic databases for original papers that were focused on miRNAs and LSCC, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol. According to the outcome, 566 articles were initially screened, of which 177 studies were selected and included in the analysis. In this systematic review, we provide an overview of the current literature on the function and the potential diagnostic and prognostic role of tissue and circulating miRNAs in LSCC.

Potentials of lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks as biomarkers for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Chemoresistance, radioresistance, and facile spreading of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) make the practically clinical treatment invalid. Such dismal outcome mainly originates from the lack of effective biomarkers which are highly desirable to understand the pathogenesis of LSCC, and strives to find promising novel biomarkers to improve early screening, effective treatment, and prognosis evaluation in LSCC. Recently, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a kind of non-coding RNAs longer than 200 nucleotides, can participate in the process of tumorigenesis and progression through many regulatory modalities, such as epigenetic transcriptional regulation and post-transcriptional regulation. Meanwhile, microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs), essentially involved in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, are aberrantly expressed in cancer-related genomic regions or susceptible sites. An increasing number of studies have shown that lncRNAs are important regulators of miRNAs expression in LSCC, and that miRNAs can also target to regulate the expression of lncRNAs, and they can target to regulate downstream messenger RNAs (mRNAs) transcriptionally or post-transcriptionally, thereby affecting various physiopathological processes of LSCC. Complex cross-regulatory networks existing among lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs can regulate the tumorigenesis and development of LSCC. Such networks may become promising biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets in the research field of LSCC. In this review, we mainly summarize the latest research progress on the regulatory relationships among lncRNAs, miRNAs, and downstream mRNAs, and highlight the potential applications of lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks as biomarkers for the early diagnosis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, chemoresistance, radioresistance, and prognosis of LSCC, aiming to provide important clues for understanding the pathogenesis of LSCC and developing new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Emerging role of lncRNAs in drug resistance mechanisms in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) originates in the squamous cell lining the mucosal surfaces of the head and neck region, including the oral cavity, nasopharynx, tonsils, oropharynx, larynx, and hypopharynx. The heterogeneity, anatomical, and functional characteristics of the patient make the HNSCC a complex and difficult-to-treat disease, leading to a poor survival rate and a decreased quality of life due to the loss of important physiologic functions and aggressive surgical injury. Alteration of driver-oncogenic and tumor-suppressing lncRNAs has recently been recently in HNSCC to obtain possible biomarkers for diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic approaches. This review provides current knowledge about the implication of lncRNAs in drug resistance mechanisms in HNSCC. Chemotherapy resistance is a major therapeutic challenge in HNSCC in which lncRNAs are implicated. Lately, it has been shown that lncRNAs involved in autophagy induced by chemotherapy and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) can act as mechanisms of resistance to anticancer drugs. Conversely, lncRNAs involved in mesenchymal–epithelial transition (MET) are related to chemosensitivity and inhibition of invasiveness of drug-resistant cells. In this regard, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a pivotal role in both processes and are important for cancer detection, progression, diagnosis, therapy response, and prognostic values. As the involvement of more lncRNAs is elucidated in chemoresistance mechanisms, an improvement in diagnostic and prognostic tools could promote an advance in targeted and specific therapies in precision oncology.

Long non-coding RNA HOXA11-AS knockout inhibits proliferation and overcomes drug resistance in ovarian cancer

In ovarian carcinogenesis and progression, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to have a role, although the underlying processes remain a mystery. By modulating the degree of autophagy in ovarian cancer cells, we sought to learn more about the function lncRNA HOXA11-AS plays in the development of ovarian cancer. The expression of HOXA11-AS in ovarian normal cells and ovarian cancer cell lines was measured using R package and qRT-PCR. Ovarian cancer cells expressed HOXA11-AS substantially higher than normal cells, while cisplatin-resistant cells expressed HOXA11-AS significantly higher than ovarian cancer cells. Next, we studied the prognostic data of HOXA11-AS in ovarian cancer in the Tissue Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). In the next step, lentiviral transfection of ovarian cancer cells A2780, OVCAR3, and A2780/DDP (cisplatin-resistant) were performed, and HOXA11-AS knockdown was found to significantly inhibit cell viability, migration, and invasion of A2780 and OVCAR3 cells, and promote apoptosis by CCK-8 assay, transwell assay, cell cycle, and apoptosis assay, and promoted the sensitivity of A2780/DDP cells to cisplatin. It has been shown by the western blot test that HOXA11-AS knockdown increases the amount of cellular autophagy in cells. In contrast, adding the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) to HOXA11-AS cells knocked down in vivo reduced its anti-tumor properties. As a whole, this study found that HOXA11-AS knockdown increased the expression of autophagy-related proteins and improved cisplatin sensitivity, decreased ovarian cancer cell proliferation, and promoted cell apoptosis. This study provides new insights into the role of HOXA11-AS in ovarian cancer regulation.

Long non-coding RNA human leucocyte antigen complex group-18 HCG18 (HCG18) promoted cell proliferation and migration in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma through cyclin D1-WNT pathway

Emerging evidence has demonstrated that long noncoding RNA (lncRNAs) play a vital role in the development of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC); however, the biological effects and underlying mechanisms of human leukocyte antigen complex group-18 HCG18 (HCG18) have not yet been reported in HNSCC. In this study, we detected the expression of the HCG18 in HNSCC cell lines and patient tissues. We observed that HCG18 was upregulated in HNSCC patient tissues and cell lines. Furthermore, silencing of HCG18 significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of HNSCC cells, whereas the opposite effects were detected in the HCG18-overexpressed group. We also found that HCG18 directly binds to the functional protein cyclin D1. Upregulated cyclin D1 reversed the inhibitory effects of HCG18 in HNSCC cell lines and activated the WNT pathway-related proteins (AXIN2, survivin, c-Myc, and β-catenin) simultaneously. Knockdown of cyclin D1 could accelerate the inhibitory effects of HCG18 and decrease the expression of AXIN2, survivin, c-Myc, and β-catenin. This indicated that lncRNA HCG18 might be involved in the tumorigenesis of HNSCC via the cyclin D1-WNT pathway. These results suggest that lncRNA HCG18 could act as a promising prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target in HNSCC patients.