Abstract
BackgroundLong non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to investigate the function of LINC01146 in HCC.MethodsThe expression of LINC01146 in HCC tissues was explored via The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases and was verified using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR) in our HCC cohort. Kaplan–Meier analysis was used to assess the relationship between LINC01146 and the prognosis of HCC patients. Cell Counting Kit 8, colony formation assays, Transwell assays, flow cytometric assays, and tumour formation models in nude mice were conducted to reveal the effects of LINC01146 on HCC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Bioinformatic methods were used to explore the possible potential pathways of LINC01146 in HCC.ResultsLINC01146 was significantly decreased in HCC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues and was found to be related to the clinical presentations of malignancy and the poor prognosis of HCC patients. Overexpression of LINC01146 inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells in vitro, while promoting their apoptosis. In contrast, downregulation of LINC01146 exerted the opposite effects on HCC cells in vitro. In addition, overexpression of LINC01146 significantly inhibited tumour growth, while downregulation of LINC01146 promoted tumour growth in vivo. Furthermore, the coexpressed genes of LINC01146 were mainly involved in the “metabolic pathway” and “complement and coagulation cascade pathway”.ConclusionLINC01146 expression was found to be decreased in HCC tissues and associated with the prognosis of HCC patients. It may serve as a cancer suppressor and prognostic biomarker in HCC.
Highlights
Long non-coding RNAs are involved in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
LINC01146 is downregulated based on Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) microarray, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases In our study, under the restriction of fold change (FC) > 2 and adjusted P < 0.05, we found 4433 differentially expressed lncRNAs in HCC, including 1708 upregulated lncRNAs and 2725 downregulated lncRNAs (GSE93789, Additional file 1: Fig. S1A)
We selected liver-specific LINC01146, which was downregulated in HCC tissues, as our research object (FC = 3.92, P = 6.93E−4, FDR = 0.027; Additional file 2: Table S1)
Summary
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). LINC00205, lncRNA RHPN1AS1, and lncRNA TMPO-AS1 directly interact with microRNAs by acting as competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) to promote the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells [15,16,17]. These findings are helpful in exploring the role of lncRNAs in the occurrence and metastasis of HCC and establishing a new approach for identifying lncRNAs as prognostic indicators and therapeutic targets
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