Abstract
Background and objectivesLong non-coding RNA (lncRNA) prostate androgen-regulated transcript 1 (PART1) was previously shown to exert an oncogenic role in several human cancers. However, whether PART1 is associated with the malignant progression of pancreatic cancer remains unclear. In the current study, we aimed to identify the role and potential mechanism of PART1 in pancreatic cancer.MethodsqRT-PCR was applied to detect PART1 expression in 45 cases of pancreatic cancer patients. The chi-square test was performed to assess the association between PART1 expression and clinicopathologic features, and Kaplan-Meier method was applied to evaluate overall survival. In vitro CCK-8, transwell invasion, and flow cytometry assays were applied to detect the effects of PART1 on cell proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis, respectively. Luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation assays were used to identify the regulatory mechanism between PART1 and miR-122.ResultsPART1 expression was upregulated in pancreatic cancer tissues and cell lines. High PART1 expression was closely correlated with tumor size, T classification, clinical stage, and vascular invasion, and predicted a poor overall survival. PART1 knockdown significantly suppressed cell proliferation and invasion abilities of pancreatic cancer but promoted cell apoptosis. PART1 was found to serve as a molecular sponge of miR-122, and miR-122 inhibition partially reversed the inhibitory phenotypes of PART1 knockdown on pancreatic cancer cells.ConclusionsPART1 promotes the malignant progression of pancreatic cancer by sponging miR-122. The PART1/miR-122 axis might be a promising target for anticancer therapy in patients with pancreatic cancer.
Highlights
Background and objectivesLong non-coding RNA prostate androgen-regulated transcript 1 (PART1) was previously shown to exert an oncogenic role in several human cancers
PART1 is highly expressed in pancreatic cancer tissues and cell lines In order to assess the role of PART1 in pancreatic cancer, we performed Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) to detect its expression in 45 cases of pancreatic cancer patients, and found that the expression level of PART1 in cancer tissues was higher than that in para-tumor normal tissues (Fig. 1a, P < 0.01)
High PART1 expression correlates with malignant clinicopathologic features and predicts a poor overall survival We evaluated whether PART1 expression correlated with the clinical outcomes in patients with pancreatic cancer
Summary
Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) prostate androgen-regulated transcript 1 (PART1) was previously shown to exert an oncogenic role in several human cancers. Whether PART1 is associated with the malignant progression of pancreatic cancer remains unclear. Similar to other human malignancies, pancreatic cancer progression is the result of a complex, multi-step process associated with a large number of genetic changes [4], and its exact molecular mechanism underlying progression remains elusive. Growing evidence suggested that dysregulation of lncRNAs exhibited as an oncogenic or tumor-suppressive activity in cancer [9, 10]. In colon cancer, Liu et al reported that lncRNA ZEB2AS1 promoted cell proliferation and inhibited cell apoptosis via regulation of miR-143/bcl-2 axis [11]. Identification of lncRNAs involved in pancreatic cancer progression might help yield novel therapeutic targets
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