High Expression of Long Non-Coding RNA TMCO1-AS1 is Associated With Poor Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Xuelian Huang,Yajin Chen,Kelin Zhang,Wenliang Tan,Changzhen Shang,Sicong Zhu

doi:10.3389/fmolb.2022.814058

Abstract

Background: The molecular pathways along with the clinical significance of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain uncertain. Our study sought to identify and characterize lncRNAs associated with HCC. Methods: LncRNA TMCO1-AS1 was identified by differential expression analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and univariate analysis using RNA sequencing and clinical information of HCC from the public database. Then clinical correlations and survival analysis were conducted to further appraise the prognostic significance of lncRNA TMCO1-AS1 in HCC. Hepatoma and adjoining normal tissues from 66 patients who received surgical operation at our center were used to verify the results of the bioinformatics analysis. A survival prognostic model was established combining TMCO1-AS1 expression and other clinical characteristics. Results: Bioinformatics analysis showed the aberrant high expression of TMCO1-AS1 in HCC tissue. TMCO1-AS1 expression was positively correlated with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level, vascular invasion, tumor stage, as well as tumor differentiation. Moreover, survival analysis found a significant inverse association between the expression of TMCO1-AS1 and the survival of patients with HCC. Cox analysis indicated that TMCO1-AS1 was an independent factor for HCC prognosis. Analysis of the HCC tissues from patients at our center provided results similar to those of the bioinformatics analysis. Risk models for overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) incorporating TMCO1-AS1 exhibited better sensitivity and specificity than using clinical characteristics alone. Conclusion: High TMCO1-AS1 expression is significantly correlated with the unfavorable poor prognosis of HCC, indicating its potential of being a novel prognostic marker for HCC.

Highlights

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is generally acknowledged to be amongst the most prevalent digestive malignant tumors on a global scale
Cox analysis indicated that TMCO1-AS1 was an independent factor for HCC prognosis
High TMCO1-AS1 expression is significantly correlated with the unfavorable poor prognosis of HCC, indicating its potential of being a novel prognostic marker for HCC

Summary

Introduction

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is generally acknowledged to be amongst the most prevalent digestive malignant tumors on a global scale. Growing studies have confirmed that lncRNAs participate in the proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and metastasis of many human cancers (Gibb et al, 2011; Bhan et al, 2017). With advances in microarray technology and high-throughput RNA sequencing, numbers of dysregulated and expressed lncRNAs that participate in various processes of HCC have been identified (Da Sacco et al, 2012; Klingenberg et al, 2017). MEG3 was the first lncRNA identified to function as a tumor suppressor gene; it interacts with P53 to inhibit tumor proliferation and its expression in HCC is low (Braconi et al, 2011). The molecular pathways along with the clinical significance of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain uncertain. Our study sought to identify and characterize lncRNAs associated with HCC

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Discussion

Conclusion