Increased expression of the long non-coding RNA ANRIL promotes lung cancer cell metastasis and correlates with poor prognosis.

Ling Lin,Ke-Jian Cao,Zhi-Tao Gu,Wen-Hu Chen

doi:10.1186/s13000-015-0247-7

Abstract

BackgroundEmerging evidences indicate that dysregulated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are implicated in cancer tumorigenesis and progression. LncRNA ANRIL has been shown to promote the progression of gastric cancer. However, the role of lncRNA ANRIL in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear.MethodsExpression of lncRNA ANRIL was analyzed in 87 NSCLC tissues and three lung cancer cell lines by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The correlation of lncRNA ANRIL with clinicopathological features and prognosis was analyzed. Suppression of lncRNA ANRIL using siRNA treatment was performed in order to explore its role in tumor progression.ResultsThe expression level of lncRNA ANRIL was higher in NSCLC tissues and lung cancer cells than in adjacent non-tumor tissues and normal human bronchial epithelial cells. Higher expression of lncRNA ANRIL in NSCLC tissues was associated with higher TNM stage and advanced lymph node metastasis. Patients with high lncRNA ANRIL expression had poorer overall survival compared with low lncRNA ANRIL group. Univariate and multivariate analyses suggested that high expression of lncRNA ANRIL was an independent poor prognostic indicator for NSCLC patients. Moreover, knockdown of lncRNA ANRIL expression could inhibit lung cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro.ConclusionsOur results suggested that lncRNA ANRIL was a potential biomarker for NSCLC prognosis, and the dysregulation of lncRNA ANRIL may play an important role in NSCLC progression.Virtual SlidesThe virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1707061287149690.

Highlights

Emerging evidences indicate that dysregulated long non-coding RNAs are implicated in cancer tumorigenesis and progression
LncRNA Antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL) was up-regulated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay was performed to detect the expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) ANRIL in 87 NSCLC tissues and corresponding non-tumor tissues
To assess the correlation of lncRNA ANRIL expression with clinicopathologic features, according to the mean value of relative lncRNA ANRIL expression (3.6) in tumor tissues, the 87 NSCLC patients were classified into two groups: relative high-ANRIL group: ANRIL expression ratio ≥ mean; relative lowANRIL group: ANRIL expression ratio < mean (Figure 1B)

Summary

Introduction

Emerging evidences indicate that dysregulated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are implicated in cancer tumorigenesis and progression. LncRNA ANRIL has been shown to promote the progression of gastric cancer. The role of lncRNA ANRIL in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. 85% of all lung cancer cases are categorized as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and more than 50% of NSCLC patients have advanced local invasion and/or distant metastases [2]. Cancer was regarded as a genetic disease, but current research revealed that cancer development and progression involves epigenetic abnormalities [4]. Genetic continuity has been shown to involve epigenetic regulation such as DNA methylation, histone deacetylation and non-coding RNA (ncRNA) regulation [5]. Increasing evidences showed that lncRNAs could play an important role in cellular development, differentiation, and many other biological processes [7,8,9]

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Results

Conclusion