Bing Zeng1,2, Zewei Lin3, Huilin Ye2, Di Cheng2, Guangtao Zhang3, Jindu Zhou4, Zhifeng Huang3, Meng Wang3, Canfeng Cai1, Jun Zeng1, Chaoming Tang1, Jikui Liu3. 1. Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Qing Yuan People's Hospital, Guangdong, China. 2. Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. 3. Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Guangdong, China. 4. Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Shenzhen Guangming New District People's Hospital, Guangdong, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are key regulators of cancer initiation and progression. In this study, we investigated the clinical value and functional role of LncRNA DQ786243 (LncDQ) in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: To investigate the expression level of LncDQ in HCC, we performed quantitative real-time PCR using total RNA extracted from HCC tumor tissues and their matched non-neoplastic counterparts, as well as from the serum of HCC patients and healthy volunteers. The correlation of LncDQ expression with clinicopathologic features and prognosis was analyzed. The functional role of LncDQ in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were evaluated by MTT cell viability, wound healing, and transwell assays in vitro and in vivo. RNA immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were performed to analyze the potential mechanism of LncDQ in HCC cells. RESULTS: LncDQ was upregulated in both HCC tissue samples and serum and was correlated with low survival rate and adverse clinical pathological characteristics. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that LncDQ expression was an independent prognostic factor for HCC. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.804 with a sensitivity of 0.72 and a specificity of 0.8. Knockdown of LncDQ induced inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, LncDQ regulated the epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathway by interacting with EZH2, to epigenetically repress the expression of E-cadherin in HCC cells. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the results of our study indicate that LncDQ plays a critical role in HCC progression, and may serve as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for HCC.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are key regulators of cancer initiation and progression. In this study, we investigated the clinical value and functional role of LncRNA DQ786243 (LncDQ) in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: To investigate the expression level of LncDQ in HCC, we performed quantitative real-time PCR using total RNA extracted from HCC tumor tissues and their matched non-neoplastic counterparts, as well as from the serum of HCC patients and healthy volunteers. The correlation of LncDQ expression with clinicopathologic features and prognosis was analyzed. The functional role of LncDQ in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were evaluated by MTT cell viability, wound healing, and transwell assays in vitro and in vivo. RNA immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were performed to analyze the potential mechanism of LncDQ in HCC cells. RESULTS: LncDQ was upregulated in both HCC tissue samples and serum and was correlated with low survival rate and adverse clinical pathological characteristics. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that LncDQ expression was an independent prognostic factor for HCC. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.804 with a sensitivity of 0.72 and a specificity of 0.8. Knockdown of LncDQ induced inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, LncDQ regulated the epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathway by interacting with EZH2, to epigenetically repress the expression of E-cadherin in HCC cells. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the results of our study indicate that LncDQ plays a critical role in HCC progression, and may serve as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for HCC.