Abstract
BackgroundIt has been reported that long-chain non-coding RNA (lncRNA) zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 antisense 1 (ZEB1-AS1) is an oncogene in various cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated the role and mechanism of ZEB1-AS1 as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) combined with miR-23c in HCC cell proliferation and invasion.MethodsQRT-PCR was used to detect ZEB1-AS1 and miR-23c expressions in HCC tissues and cells. The dual luciferase reporter assay detected the targeted regulation of miR-23c and ZEB1-AS1. We also performed the correlation analysis of their expression in HCC tissues by the Spearman’s correlation analysis. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to detect the proliferation of hepatoma cells. Cell invasion was assessed by the Transwell assay.ResultsQRT-PCR results indicated ZEB1-AS1 was upregulated and miR-23c was downregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. ZEB1-AS1 knockdown hampered the proliferation and invasion of HCC cells. Dual luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-23c is a target of ZEB1-AS1, and ZEB1-AS1 was significantly negatively correlated with the miR-23c expression in HCC tissues. The results of MTT and Transwell assay showed that miR-23c inhibition restored the inhibitory effect of ZEB1-AS1 knockdown on HCC cells proliferation and invasion.ConclusionsAs a ceRNA, lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 may play a vital role in inhibiting HCC progression through miR-23c, which will provide new clues and theoretical basis for the HCC diagnosis and treatment.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with an increasing trend in its incidence, is a common primary liver cancer, ranking sixth among the most common tumors [1]
ZEB1-AS1 is upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ZEB1-AS1 expression in the specimens of HCC and corresponding adjacent tissues was detected through qRT-PCR
The results revealed that ZEB1-AS1 was highly expressed in HCC versus adjacent tissues (Fig. 1a)
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with an increasing trend in its incidence, is a common primary liver cancer, ranking sixth among the most common tumors [1]. LncRNA is a transcription of more than 200 nucleotides and has no protein coding ability [5] Both lncRNAs and miRNAs are non-coding RNAs, and miRNAs play important role in tumorigenesis, immunity, and development [6]. LncRNA can act as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to competitively bind with miRNA to regulate miRNA expression and inhibit the regulatory effect of miRNA on target genes, among which there may be new mechanisms of tumorigenesis and development, and elucidating these mechanisms will provide new ideas for tumor diagnosis and treatment [8]. It has been reported that long-chain non-coding RNA (lncRNA) zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 antisense 1 (ZEB1-AS1) is an oncogene in various cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated the role and mechanism of ZEB1-AS1 as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) combined with miR23c in HCC cell proliferation and invasion
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