Abstract
Several long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) might be correlated with the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) and serve as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. However, the exact expression pattern of small nucleolar RNA host gene 12 (SNHG12) in colorectal cancer and its clinical significance remains unclear. The level of SNHG12 was detected by qRT-PCR in CRC tissues and CRC cells. MTT assay and colony formation assay were performed to examine the cell proliferation of CRC cells transfected with pcDNA-SNHG12 or si-SNHG12. Flow cytometry technology was used to detect cell cycle and cell apoptosis of CRC cells transfected with pcDNA-SNHG12 or si-SNHG12. The protein level of cell cycle progression-related molecules, including cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK4, CDK6), cyclin D1 (CCND1) and cell apoptosis-related molecule caspase 3 was detected by western blot. The effect of SNHG12 knockdown was examined in vivo. Increased levels of SNHG12 were observed in CRC tissues and in CRC cells. SNHG12 promoted the cell proliferation of CRC cells. In addition, SNHG12 overexpression boosted the cell cycle progression of SW480 cells transfected with pcDNA-SNHG12 and SNHG12 knockdown inhibited the cell cycle progression of HT29 cells transfected with si-SNHG12. SNHG12 also inhibited the cell apoptosis of CRC cells. We also found that SNHG12 increased the expression of cell cycle-related proteins and suppressed the expression of caspase 3. Our results suggest that SNHG12 promoted cell growth and inhibited cell apoptosis in CRC cells, indicating that SNHG12 might be a useful biomarker for colorectal cancer.
Highlights
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignant tumor globally [1,2]
To detect the clinical significance of small nucleolar RNA host gene 12 (SNHG12) expression in CRC, 60 patients were divided into SNHG12 high expression group (n=30) and SNHG12 low expression group (n=30) according to the cutoff value, which was defined as the median of the cohort
SNHG12 knockdown inhibited the cell cycle progression of HT29 cells transfected with si-SNHG12 (Figure 4C and D)
Summary
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignant tumor globally [1,2]. Progression of CRC is a multi-step process involving the deregulation of several oncogenes and tumor suppressor gene, which might be used as diagnostic and therapeutic targets [3]. The precise mechanisms of these genes in CRC are poorly understood and novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers need to be discovered. LncRNA might be correlated with patients’ prognosis and serve as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for disease. In CRC, various lncRNAs have been identified to be abnormally expressed and related to disease progression [7]. Niu et al [8] found that lncRNA AK027294 was strongly expressed in CRC and closely correlated with cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis.
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