LncRNA HOXD-AS1 promotes the metastasis of human hepatocellular carcinoma via modulating miR-326/SLC27A4

Wenbin Ji,Jian Yang,Qunfeng Wang

doi:10.1186/s12935-020-01217-8

Abstract

BackgroundMounting evidences have indicated that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) HOXD cluster antisense RNA 1 (HOXD-AS1) is dysregulated and participates into the progression of cancers. This study aims to investigate the biological roles and mechanisms of HOXD-AS1 in the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsThe quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay was used to assess the level of miR-326 and HOXD-AS1 in HCC tissues and cell lines. The growth of HCC cell was analyzed by using CCK-8 assay and colony formation assay. The migration and invasion of HCC cell were investigated by using wound healing and transwell invasion analysis. The expressions of SLC27A4, N-cadherin and E-cadherin were determined by western blotting. The growth of HCC cell in vivo was assessed by using xenograft model.ResultsHere, we elaborated that HOXD-AS1 was overexpressed in HCC tissues than that in the adjacent normal tissues and the level of HOXD-AS1 was related with the aggressive phenotypes of HCC. Functionally, downregulation of HOXD-AS1 repressed the proliferation, invasion abilities of HCC cell in vitro and the distant metastasis of HCC cell in vivo. Further investigations demonstrated that HOXD-AS1 directly bound with miR-326 and thereby regulated its endogenous target gene, solute carrier family 27 member 4 (SLC27A4).ConclusionsAll these findings indicated that HOXD-AS1-miR-326-SLC27A4 axis participated into the progression of HCC.

Highlights

Mounting evidences have indicated that long non-coding RNA HOXD cluster antisense RNA 1 (HOXD-AS1) is dysregulated and participates into the progression of cancers
HOXD‐AS1 is overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) Firstly, we detected the levels of HOXD-AS1 in normal tissues (n=48) and HCC tissues (n=48) by using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis
Additional, HOXDAS1 was markedly overexpressed in HCC tissues with metastasis in contrast to tissues without metastasis (Fig. 1c)

Summary

Introduction

Mounting evidences have indicated that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) HOXD cluster antisense RNA 1 (HOXD-AS1) is dysregulated and participates into the progression of cancers. This study aims to investigate the biological roles and mechanisms of HOXD-AS1 in the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide [1]. Cancer cell diffusion and metastasis remain the mainly causes of death in patients with HCC, and the process of metastasis is sophisticated which involves a sequence of complex. Increasing reports have indicated that lncRNAs are involved into cancer progression and can be considered as prognostic indicators among different cancers, including pancreatic cancer, gastric carcinoma (GC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

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