MicroRNA-140 regulates cell growth and invasion in pancreatic duct adenocarcinoma by targeting iASPP

Mechanism and function of miR-140 in human cancers: A review and in silico study

MicroRNA-140 (miR-140) acts as a tumor suppressor and plays a vital role in cell biological functions such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, and DNA repair. The expression of this miRNA has been shown to be considerably decreased in cancer tissues and cell lines compared with normal adjacent tissues. Consequently, aberrant expression of some miR-140 target genes can lead to the initiation and progression of various human cancers, such as breast cancer, gastrointestinal cancers, lung cancer, and prostate cancer. The dysregulation of the miR-140 network also affects cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and apoptosis of cancer cells by affecting various signaling pathways. Besides, up-regulation of miR-140 could enhance the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents in different cancer. We aimed to cover most aspects of miR-140 function in cancer development and address its importance in different stages of cancer progression.

Non-coding RNAs and glioblastoma: Insight into their roles in metastasis

Glioma, also known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is the most prevalent and most lethal primary brain tumor in adults. Gliomas are highly invasive tumors with the highest death rate among all primary brain malignancies. Metastasis occurs as the tumor cells spread from the site of origin to another site in the brain. Metastasis is a multifactorial process, which depends on alterations in metabolism, genetic mutations, and the cancer microenvironment. During recent years, the scientific study of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) has led to new insight into the molecular mechanisms involved in glioma. Many studies have reported that ncRNAs play major roles in many biological procedures connected with the development and progression of glioma. Long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs) are all types of ncRNAs, which are commonly dysregulated in GBM. Dysregulation of ncRNAs can facilitate the invasion and metastasis of glioma. The present review highlights some ncRNAs that have been associated with metastasis in GBM. miRNAs, circRNAs, and lncRNAs are discussed in detail with respect to their relevant signaling pathways involved in metastasis.

High S100A7 expression is associated with early muscle invasion and poor survival in bladder carcinoma

Muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma (MIBC) accounts for 25% of newly diagnosed bladder carcinomas (BCs) and presents a high risk of progression and metastasis. This study aimed to identify reliable biomarkers associated with muscle invasion and prognosis to identify potential therapeutic targets for MIBC. Four gene datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus, and the integrated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were then subjected to gene ontology (GO) terms and pathway enrichment analyses. Correlation analysis between the expression of the top-ranking DEGs and pathological T stages was performed to identify the genes associated with early muscle invasion. The corresponding prognostic values were evaluated, and co-expressed genes mined in the cBioPortal database were loaded into ClueGo in Cytoscape for pathway enrichment analysis. Using data mining from the STRING and TCGA databases, protein-protein interaction and competitive endogenous RNA networks were constructed. In total, 645 integrated DEGs were identified and these were mainly enriched in 26 pathways, including cell cycle, bladder cancer, DNA replication, and PPAR signaling pathway. S100A7 expression was significantly increased from the T2 stage and showed significantly worse overall survival and disease-specific survival in patients with BC. In total, 144 genes co-expressed with S100A7 in BC were significantly enriched in the IL-17 pathway. S100A7 was predicted to directly interact with LYZ, which potentially shows competitive binding with hsa-mir-140 to affect the expression of six lncRNAs in MIBC. In conclusion, high S100A7 expression was predicted to be associated with early muscle invasion and poor survival in patients with BC.

MicroRNAs' role in the environment-related non-communicable diseases and link to multidrug resistance, regulation, or alteration

The discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) 20 years ago has advocated a new era of "small molecular genetics." About 2000 miRNAs are present that regulate one third of the genome. MiRNA dysregulated expression arising as a response to our environment insult or stress or changes may contribute to several diseases, namely non-communicable diseases, including tumor growth. Their presence in body fluids, reflecting level alteration in various cancers, merit circulating miRNAs as the "next-generation biomarkers" for early-stage tumor diagnosis and/or prognosis. Herein, we performed a comprehensive literature search focusing on the origin, biosynthesis, and role of miRNAs and summarized the foremost studies centering on miR value as non-invasive biomarkers in different environment-related non-communicable diseases, including various cancer types. Moreover, during chemotherapy, many miRNAs were linked to multidrug resistance, via modulating numerous, environment triggered or not, biological processes and/or pathways that will be highlighted as well.

The Emerging Role of miRNAs for the Radiation Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

Simple Summary

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive disease with a high mortality rate. Radiotherapy is one treatment option within a multimodal therapy approach for patients with locally advanced, non-resectable pancreatic tumors. However, radiotherapy is only effective in about one-third of the patients. Therefore, biomarkers that can predict the response to radiotherapy are of utmost importance. Recently, microRNAs, small non-coding RNAs regulating gene expression, have come into focus as there is growing evidence that microRNAs could serve as diagnostic, predictive and prognostic biomarkers in various cancer entities, including pancreatic cancer. Moreover, their high stability in body fluids such as serum and plasma render them attractive candidates for non-invasive biomarkers. This article describes the role of microRNAs as suitable blood biomarkers and outlines an overview of radiation-induced microRNAs changes and the association with radioresistance in pancreatic cancer.

Abstract

Today, pancreatic cancer is the seventh leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide with a five-year overall survival rate of less than 7%. Only 15–20% of patients are eligible for curative intent surgery at the time of diagnosis. Therefore, neoadjuvant treatment regimens have been introduced in order to downsize the tumor by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. To further increase the efficacy of radiotherapy, novel molecular biomarkers are urgently needed to define the subgroup of pancreatic cancer patients who would benefit most from radiotherapy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) could have the potential to serve as novel predictive and prognostic biomarkers in patients with pancreatic cancer. In the present article, the role of miRNAs as blood biomarkers, which are associated with either radioresistance or radiation-induced changes of miRNAs in pancreatic cancer, is discussed. Furthermore, the manuscript provides own data of miRNAs identified in a pancreatic cancer mouse model as well as radiation-induced miRNA changes in the plasma of tumor-bearing mice.

LncRNA HCP5 Regulates Pancreatic Cancer Progression by miR-140-5p/CDK8 Axis

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Human leukocyte antigen complex P5 (HCP5), a member of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), was reported to be associated with the poor prognosis of PC. However, the mechanism of HCP5 in regulating the progression of PC remains poorly defined. Materials and Methods: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect the expression levels of HCP5, microRNA (miR)-140-5p, and cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) in PC tissues and cells. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was utilized to check cell proliferation. Transwell assay was employed to evaluate the abilities of cell migration and invasion. Xenograft tumor model was established to investigate the biological role of HCP5 in PC in vivo. The interaction between miR-140-5p and HCP5 or CDK8 was predicted by starBase or TargetScan, respectively. The dual-luciferase reporter assay was conducted to corroborate the interaction. The protein level of CDK8 was measured by Western blot. Results: HCP5 and CDK8 were significantly upregulated in PC tissues and cells, opposite to the expression of miR-140-5p. High expression of HCP5 contributed to the low survival rate and HCP5 silencing inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of PC cells in vitro. Simultaneously, in vivo experiments indicated that downregulation of HCP5 suppressed tumor growth. In addition, miR-140-5p was a target of HCP5 and bound to the 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) of CDK8. Further studies revealed that overexpression of CDK8 reversed the miR-140-5p-mediated inhibitory effect on PC progression. Moreover, downregulation of miR-140-5p or upregulation of CDK8 inverted the silencing-mediated repressive impact of HCP5 on PC progression. Conclusion: Downregulation of HCP5 impeded PC progression by downregulating CDK8 via sponging miR-140-5p.

Downregulation of iASPP Expression Suppresses Proliferation, Invasion and Increases Chemosensitivity to Paclitaxel of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma In Vitro

Objective Our previous study has revealed that iASPP is elevated in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and iASPP overexpression signifcantly correlates with tumor malignant progression and poor survival of HNSCC. This study investigated the function of iASPP playing in proliferation and invasion of HNSCC in vitro. Methods HNSCC cell line Tu686 transfected with Lentiviral vector-mediated iASPP-specific shRNA and control shRNA were named the shRNA-iASPP group and shRNA-NC group, respectively. The non-infected Tu686 cells were named the CON group. CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry, transwell invasion assay were performed to detect the effects of iASPP inhibition in vitro. Results Our results demonstrated that the proliferation of shRNA-iASPP cells at the time of 72 h (F=32.459, P=0.000), 96 h (F=51.407, P=0.000), 120 h (F=35.125, P=0.000) post-transfection, was significantly lower than that of shRNA-NC cells and CON cells. The apoptosis ratio of shRNA-iASPP cells was 9.42% ± 0.39% (F=299.490, P=0.000), which was significantly higher than that of CON cells (2.80% ± 0.42%) and shRNA-NC cells (3.18% ± 0.28%). The percentage of shRNA-iASPP cells in G0/G1 phase was 74.65% ± 1.09% (F=388.901, P=0.000), which was strikingly increased, compared with that of CON cells (55.19% ± 1.02%) and shRNA-NC cells (54.62% ± 0.88%). The number of invading cells was 56 ± 4 in the shRNA-iASPP group (F=84.965, P=0.000), which decreased significantly, compared with the CON group (111 ± 3) and the shRNA-NC group (105 ± 8). The survival rate of shRNA-iASPP cells administrated with paclitaxel was highly decreased, compared with CON cells and shRNA-NC cells (F=634.841, P=0.000). Conclusion These results suggest iASPP may play an important role in progression and aggressive behavior of HNSCC and may be an efficient chemotherapeutic target for the treatment of HNSCC.

MiR-345-5p functions as a tumor suppressor in pancreatic cancer by directly targeting CCL8

BACKGROUND

Increasing evidence has demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of human diseases and can serve as prognostic markers for several cancers, such as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Previous studies have revealed various functions for miR-345-5p in several cancers. However, the role and potential mechanism of miR-345-5p in PDAC have not been resolved.

METHODS

Quantitative RT-PCR was performed to investigate the expression levels of miR-345-5p in pancreatic cancer tissues and cell lines, and the effect of miR-345-5p on the proliferation and invasiveness of pancreatic cancer was examined in Transwell assays with miR-345-5p overexpression. We used Western blot assay to explore the underlying mechanisms. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to examine changes in the cytoskeleton of PANC-1 cells in response to miR-345-5p. Luciferase assays were used to clarify the target and regulation mechanism of miR-345-5p.

RESULTS

miR-345-5p expression was downregulated in PDAC cells and tissues. Upregulated miR-345-5p expression inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of PDAC cells. We identified CCL8 as a direct target of miR-345-5p and found CCL8 expression was inversely correlated with miR-345-5p expression in PDAC samples. CCL8 could activate the NF-κB signaling pathway to promote the proliferation and invasiveness of PDAC cells. These results suggested that miR-345-5p inhibited PDAC progression by inactivating NF-κB signaling.

CONCLUSIONS

Here we demonstrated that miR-345-5p was a tumor-suppressive miRNA in pancreatic cancer progression by targeting CCL8. Our results suggest miR-345-5p may be a potential therapeutic biomarker for pancreatic cancer treatment.

miR-129 targets CDK1 and iASPP to modulate Burkitt lymphoma cell proliferation in a TAp63-dependent manner

Burkitt lymphoma is one of the most common lymphatic system cancers with poor outcome in adult patients. p53-induced apoptosis is a critical signaling for preventing tumor development. Cyclin B/cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) phosphorylates inhibitor of apoptosis stimulating protein of P53 (iASPP) to promote iASPP nucleus localization and its inhibitory effect on p53. However, p53 is frequently mutated in Burkitt lymphoma, which gains novel oncogenic properties. Recently, the p53 family member, p63, became an attractive gene for the therapeutic strategies for patients with cancer. Therefore, we investigated the role of iASPP in the transactivation domain p63 (TAp63)-dependent cell proliferation inhibition in Burkitt lymphoma. We verified that the oncogenic effect of iASPP on Burkitt lymphoma is TAp63 dependent rather than p53 and confirmed that the interaction between CDK1 and iASPP enhanced the inhibitory effect of iASPP on p53 and TAp63. An online tool predicated that miR-129 might bind to 3'-untranslated region of iASPP and CDK1. We revealed that miR-129 acted as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting cancer cell proliferation and inhibiting CDK1 and iASPP via direct binding. An miR-129 inhibitor increased nucleus iASPP and decreased nucleus p53 and TAp63 levels, which could be reversed by the CDK1 knockdown, indicating that miR-129 might target CDK1 to inhibit iASPP phosphorylation, thus hindering iASPP nucleus localization and its inhibitory effect on p53 and TAp63 protein levels. Taken together, miR-129 could targetedly inhibit the expression of CDK1 and iASPP. CDK1 knockdown inhibits iASPP S84/S113 phosphorylation, thus blocking iASPP nucleus localization, suppressing the inhibitory effect of iASPP on p53 and TAp63, and restoring TAp63-induced proliferation inhibition in Burkitt lymphoma cells.

MicroRNA‑539 inhibits cell proliferation, colony formation and invasion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by directly targeting IGF‑1R

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) possess oncogenic and tumour‑suppressive roles in the carcinogenesis and progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) by regulating the expression of numerous cancer‑related genes. Thus, the investigation on the expression and roles of miRNAs in PDAC may facilitate the identification of novel and effective targets for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of patients with PDAC. miRNA‑539 (miR‑539) has been studied in multiple types of human cancer. However, its expression and potential biological function in PDAC remain unclear. In the current study, the expression level, clinical significance, roles and underlying molecular mechanism of miR‑539 in PDAC. The present results demonstrated that miR‑539 expression was downregulated in PDAC tissues and cell lines. A low miR‑539 level was associated with TNM stage and lymph node metastasis of patients with PDAC. miR‑539 overexpression induced a significant reduction in the proliferation, colony formation and invasion of PDAC cells. Insulin‑like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF‑1R) was confirmed as a direct target gene of miR‑539 in PDAC. Further analysis indicated that IGF‑1R was overexpressed in PDAC tissues. Notably, the mRNA expression of IGF‑1R was negatively correlated with miR‑539 levels in PDAC tissues. In addition, the recovered IGF‑1R expression also partially counteracted the suppressive roles of miR‑539 overexpression in PDAC cells. Overall, miR‑539 may inhibit the aggressive behaviour of PDAC by directly targeting IGF‑1R and may serve as a novel therapeutic target for patients with this disease.

The lncRNA XIST interacts with miR-140/miR-124/iASPP axis to promote pancreatic carcinoma growth

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) X-inactive specific transcript (XIST) is involved in the development and progression of many tumors. In this study, XIST was specifically upregulated in pancreatic carcinoma tissues and cell lines; a higher XIST expression was correlated to poorer clinicopathologic features. After XIST knockdown, the proliferation of PC cell lines was suppressed and cell cycle stagnated in G1 phase; XIST knockdown also reduced the protein levels of inhibitor of apoptosis-stimulating protein of p53 (iASPP) and Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1), increased the protein level of P21, a potent CDK inhibitor. In PC cell lines, XIST and miR-140/miR-124, two tumor-associated miRNAs, could inversely regulate each other, respectively; miR-140/miR-124 could bind to XIST and the 3’UTR of PPP1R13L, respectively. XIST and miR-140/miR-124 exerted opposite effects on iASPP, CDK1, P21 and P27 proteins; whereas the effects of LV-sh-XIST on the indicated protein levels could be partially reversed by miR-140 and/or miR-124 inhibitor. In PC tissues, miR-140 and miR-124 expression was down-regulated, iASPP and CDK1 mRNA expression was up-regulated. XIST positively correlated with iASPP and CDK1, inversely correlated with miR-140 and miR-124, respectively. Taken together, our data indicated that XIST might be an oncogenic lncRNA that promoted proliferation of PC cell line through inhibiting miR-140/miR-124 expression and promoting cell cycle-related factor expression, and could be regarded as a therapeutic target in human pancreatic carcinoma.

The long non-coding RNA MALAT1 interacted with miR-218 modulates choriocarcinoma growth by targeting Fbxw8

Among the first found cancer-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), MALAT1 is one that involves in the development and progression of some tumors. MALAT1 can be aberrantly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma, cervical, breast, ovarian cancers, as well as colorectal cancer. The paper aims to make certain the function of MALAT1 in human choriocarcinoma cell lines by investigating the detailed effects and molecular mechanisms. Being specifically upregulated in choriocarcinoma cell lines, the under-researched lncRNA-MALAT1 promoted choriocarcinoma cell growth by targeting miR-218. After MALAT1 knockdown, proliferation of human choriocarcinoma cell in vitro was dramatically hindered, and the tumor size in vivo was reduced. What is more, miR-218-mediated Fbxw8 regulation was required for MALAT1-induced choriocarcinoma cell proliferation. Taken together, MALAT1 might promote choriocarcinoma tumor growth through miR-218-mediated Fbxw8 regulation. According to our data, MALAT1 might be an oncogenic lncRNA that promoted choriocarcinoma proliferation and could be therapeutically targeted in human choriocarcinoma.

Wild-type and mutant p53 differentially modulate miR-124/iASPP feedback following pohotodynamic therapy in human colon cancer cell line

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a most common digestive system malignant tumor. p53 mutation has essential role in cancers and is frequently observed in CRC and presents a huge challenge. p53 mutation has been reported to attenuate the inhibitory effect of photofrin-based photodynamic therapy (PDT). p53 mutation-induced gain of function brings up the dysfunction of carcinogenic factors, including miRNAs. Our research found that PDT suppressed CRC cell viability, reduced the tumor size and prolonged the survival time, all of which could be attenuated by p53 mutation or deletion. After p53 mutation or deletion, several miRNA expression levels were downregulated, among which miR-124 was the most strongly downregulated, whereas iASPP expression was upregulated. p53 binds to the promoter of miR-124 to promote its expression and then inhibited iASPP expression, so as to amplify the inhibitory effect of PDT on wild-type p53 cells. In p53-mutant or -deleted cells, this binding no longer worked to promote miR-124 expression, and iASPP expression increased, finally resulted in promoted CRC cell viability upon PDT. The interactive modulation among miR and iASPP in p53-mutant or -deleted cells may serve as a crucial pathway, which mediates therapy resistance when p53 is mutated or deleted, in the process of PDT treatment of CRC.

iASPP overexpression is associated with clinical outcome in spinal chordoma and influences cellular proliferation, invasion, and sensitivity to cisplatin in vitro

The oncogenetic function of inhibitory member of the apoptosis stimulating protein of p53 family (iASPP) in chordoma is unclear and remains to elucidate. The expression of iASPP in chordoma tissues and cells, its correlation to clinicopathological parameters and the effect on the patients’ prognosis were evaluated. Cellular proliferation, invasion and cisplatin-response were observed after the iASPP knockdown or overexpression in vitro. Co-Immunoprecipitation assay was used to explore the interaction between iASPP and p53. The regulation of miRNA-124 on the expression and apoptotic function of iASPP was explored after transiently transfecting cells with miRNA-124 mimics or inhibitor. Results indicated that iASPP overexpressed in chordoma tissues and cells. Its overexpression was associated with tumor invasion and local recurrence, and was predictive of patients’ poor prognosis. Cells with iASPP-silence showed a decreased ability of proliferation and invasion, but an increasing sensitivity to cisplatin. Besides, iASPP could combine with p53 in either endogenous or exogenous detection. Post-transcriptionally, miRNA-124 negatively regulated the expression of iASPP, which further led to the changes of apoptosis-related proteins. Thus, iASPP overexpression is associated with the clinical outcome in spinal chordoma and influences cellular proliferation, invasion, and the sensitivity to cisplatin.

Regulation of multidrug resistance by microRNAs in anti-cancer therapy

Multidrug resistance (MDR) remains a major clinical obstacle to successful cancer treatment. Although diverse mechanisms of MDR have been well elucidated, such as dysregulation of drugs transporters, defects of apoptosis and autophagy machinery, alterations of drug metabolism and drug targets, disrupti on of redox homeostasis, the exact mechanisms of MDR in a specific cancer patient and the cross-talk among these different mechanisms and how they are regulated are poorly understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a new class of small noncoding RNAs that could control the global activity of the cell by post-transcriptionally regulating a large variety of target genes and proteins expression. Accumulating evidence shows that miRNAs play a key regulatory role in MDR through modulating various drug resistant mechanisms mentioned above, thereby holding much promise for developing novel and more effective individualized therapies for cancer treatment. This review summarizes the various MDR mechanisms and mainly focuses on the role of miRNAs in regulating MDR in cancer treatment.

MicroRNA-140 represses glioma growth and metastasis by directly targeting ADAM9

Glioma is the most frequent primary malignant tumor of the human brain. Recently, great progress has been made in the combined therapy of glioma. However, the clinical effects of these treatments and prognosis for patients with glioma remains poor. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to play important roles in the initiation and progression of various types of human cancers, also including glioma. The present study investigated the expression patterns of microRNA‑140 (miR-140) in glioma, and the roles of miR-140 in glioma cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The results showed that miR-140 was significantly downreuglated in glioma tissues and cell lines, and low expression levels of miR-140 were correlated with World Health Organization (WHO) grade and Karnofsky performance score (KPS) of glioma patients. Restoration of miR-140 obviously suppressed glioma cell proliferation, migration and invasion. In addition, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 9 (ADAM9) was identified as a novel direct target gene of miR-140 in glioma. Furthermore, knockdown of ADAM9 simulated the tumor suppressor functions of miR-140, while overexpression of ADAM9 abrogated these suppressive effects induced by miR-140 in glioma cells. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated the expression and clinical roles of miR-140 in glioma and suggested that miR-140 inhibited proliferation, migration and invasion of glioma cells, partially at least via suppressing ADAM9 expression. Therefore, miR-140 may be a novel candidate target for the development of therapeutic strategies for patients with glioma.

The lncRNA H19 interacts with miR-140 to modulate glioma growth by targeting iASPP

H19, one of the first found cancer-associated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), is involved in the development and progression of many types of tumors. An aberrant expression of H19 was observed in hepatocellular carcinoma, cervical cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and colorectal cancer. However, the exact effects and molecular mechanisms of H19 in glioma progression are still unknown up to now. In this study, we investigated the role of H19 in human glioma cell lines and clinical tumor samples in order to determine the function of this molecule. In our research, lncRNA-H19 was specifically upregulated in glioma cell lines and promoted glioma cell growth through targeting miR-140. Knockdown of H19 inhibited the proliferation and invasion of human glioma cell and suppressed its metastasis in vitro and in vivo. In addition, miR-140 dependent inhibitor of apoptosis-stimulating protein of p53 (iASPP) regulation was required in H19 induced glioma cell growth. These findings indicated that H19 might regulate the tumor growth and metastasis via miR-140 dependent iASPP regulation. Taken together, our data indicated that H19 might be an oncogenic lncRNA that promoted proliferation and metastasis of glioma and could be regarded as a therapeutic target in human glioma.

Long non-coding RNA Unigene56159 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition by acting as a ceRNA of miR-140-5p in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

HBV infection has been reported to be closely associated with HCC development; however, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Emerging evidence has indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important regulatory roles in the pathogenesis and progression of cancers. To investigate the important role and mechanism of lncRNAs in the progression of HBV-related HCC, we screened lncRNAs in HBV-positive and HBV-negative HCC tissues. We identified a novel lncRNA, lncRNA-Unigene56159, which is highly expressed in HBV-related HCC tissues, and further analysis showed that this lncRNA was induced by HBV in vitro. Functionally, Unigene56159 significantly promoted cell migration/invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in HCC. Mechanistically, Unigene56159 could directly bind to miR-140-5p and effectively act as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-140-5p to de-repress the expression of the target gene Slug. Collectively, our findings indicate that the Unigene56159/miR-140-5p/Slug axis contributes to HCC cell migration and invasion, which may provide novel insights into the function of lncRNA-driven hepatocarcinogenesis.