Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are novel regulators in cancer biology. BRAF-activated lncRNA (BANCR) is overexpressed in melanoma and has a potential functional role in melanoma cell migration. However, little is known about the role of BANCR in the development of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). In the present study, BANCR expression was examined in six pairs of PTC and matched adjacent normal tissues. The results revealed that BANCR levels were significantly higher in the PTC tissues and PTC IHH-4 cells compared with the normal controls. Knockdown of BANCR in the IHH-4 cells inhibited proliferation and increased apoptosis of the cells in vitro. Further investigation of the underlying mechanisms revealed that BANCR markedly activated autophagy. Overexpression of BANCR inhibited apoptosis in the IHH-4 cells, whereas inhibition of autophagy stimulated apoptosis in the BANCR-overexpressed cells. BANCR overexpression also increased cell proliferation and the inhibition of autophagy abrogated BANCR overexpression-induced cell proliferation. In addition, the overexpression of BANCR resulted in an increase in the ratio of LC3-II/LC3-I, a marker for autophagy, while the knockdown of BANCR decreased the ratio of LC3-II/LC3-I. These results revealed that BANCR expression levels are upregulated in PTC. Additionally, BANCR increases PTC cell proliferation, which could activate autophagy.
Highlights
Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer, accounting for ~80% of all thyroid cancers
The BRAF‐activated lncRNA (BANCR) level in the PTC IHH‐4 cell line was upregulated compared with the mean expression level of the adjacent normal tissues
The reverse transcription (RT)‐polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results showed that BANCR expression was significantly higher in five out of six of the tumor tissues compared with the adjacent normal tissues
Summary
Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer, accounting for ~80% of all thyroid cancers. Examining genetic factors could aid early detection and facilitate the treatment and prevention of PTC. The ideal genetic marker for PTC detection has not yet been identified. BRAF‐activated lncRNA (BANCR) is a 693‐bp transcript on chromosome 9, which is frequently overexpressed and has a possible functional role in the migration of melanoma cells [5,6]. BANCR is strongly linked with V600EBRAF, which is the most prevalent mutation of the BRAF gene. V600EBRAF mutations are exhibited in 70% of malignant melanomas, 36‐53% of papillary thyroid cancers and 5‐22% of CRCs [7]. The V600EBRAF mutation is considered to be a putative prognostic marker for the aggressiveness of PTC [8], but the expression pattern and biological functions of BANCR in PTC remain to be elucidated
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