Overexpression of lncRNAs H19 and UCA1 in gastric cancer tissues

Abstract

BackgroundGastric cancer (GC) has been recognized as one of the most prevalent cancers of the gastrointestinal system. Cumulative studies have shown evidence on the effect of infectious agents such as H. pylori against lncRNA on host gene expression regulation. Both lncRNAs H19 and UCA1 are known as oncogenes, responsible for GC development, tumorigenesis, invasion and metastasis. Methods and resultsA total of 101 tumors and their corresponding marginal non-tumor tissues were sampled from GC patients. Total RNA was then isolated to measure H19 and UCA1 expression using quantitative reverse transcriptase (qRT)-PCR. Statistical analyses including Mann-Whitney U test, ROC plot and correlation were performed on their expression using R v4.5. The results demonstrated the overexpression of both lncRNAs H19 and UCA1 in GC tissues as compared to marginal non-tumor tissue samples (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0003, respectively). The association with clinicopathological features was only observed between H19 with lymph node metastasis and H. pylori infection. Despite an obvious negative link between H19 and UCA1, these results did not demonstrate any sharp linear correlation. ConclusionWith the respective area under the curve of 0.727 and 0.625 for H19 and UCA1, the results of the current research suggested moderate diagnostic biomarker value for these lncRNAs in GC. This study can contribute to future studies on the association of H. pylori infection and its effect on the joint expression of lncRNAs, specifically H19 and UCA1 regarding GC susceptibility.