Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs are sequences longer than 200 nucleotides that are involved in different normal and abnormal biological processes exerting their effect on proliferation and differentiation, among other cell features. Functionally, lncRNAs can regulate gene expression within the cells by acting at transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, or post-translational levels. However, in pathological conditions such as cancer, the expression of these molecules is deregulated, becoming elements that can help in the acquisition of tumoral characteristics in the cells that trigger carcinogenesis and cancer progression. Specifically, in gallbladder cancer (GBC), recent publications have shown that lncRNAs participate in the acquisition of an aggressive phenotype in cancer cells, allowing them to acquire increased malignant capacities such as chemotherapy resistance or metastasis, inducing a worse survival in these patients. Furthermore, lncRNAs are useful as prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers since they have been shown to be differentially expressed in tumor tissues and serum of individuals with GBC. Therefore, this review will address different lncRNAs that could be promoting malignant phenotypic characteristics in GBC cells and lncRNAs that may be useful as markers due to their capability to predict a poor prognosis in GBC patients.
Highlights
Published: 17 September 2021In the last decades, the study of aggressive malignant characteristics in cancer has involved mainly protein-coding RNAs, which have been associated with different mechanisms that promote an aggressive phenotype in cancer cells [1]
The expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been associated with different types of of cancers by by inducing the the acquisition of more aggressive characteristics, different types cancers inducing acquisition of more aggressive characteristics, such as higher tumorigenic capacity, higher metastatic capacity, induction of epithelialsuch as higher tumorigenic capacity, higher metastatic capacity, induction of epithelialmesenchymal-transition (EMT) features, drug resistance, and stem-like phenotype, all of mesenchymal-transition (EMT) features, drug resistance, and stem-like phenotype, all of them directly related to poor prognosis in cancer patients [7,8,9,10]
Regarding the gallbladder cancer (GBC), AFAP1-AS1, is a lncRNA that is overexpressed in GBC tissues and its expression levels are significantly associated with tumor size
Summary
The study of aggressive malignant characteristics in cancer has involved mainly protein-coding RNAs (mRNA encoded from genes), which have been associated with different mechanisms that promote an aggressive phenotype in cancer cells [1]. LncRNAs are defined as RNA sequences of more than 200 nucleotides that typically do not possess functional open reading frames (ORFs) and most are transcribed by RNA polymerase II [4] These transcripts act by epigenetically regulating the gene expression at post-transcriptional, transcriptional, translational and post-translational levels by forming structures of RNA:RNA, RNA:DNA, and RNA:Protein that allow them to participate in different cellular processes [5,6]. The expression of lncRNAs has been associated with different types of of cancers by by inducing the the acquisition of more aggressive characteristics, different types cancers inducing acquisition of more aggressive characteristics, such as higher tumorigenic capacity, higher metastatic capacity, induction of epithelialsuch as higher tumorigenic capacity, higher metastatic capacity, induction of epithelialmesenchymal-transition (EMT) features, drug resistance, and stem-like phenotype, all of mesenchymal-transition (EMT) features, drug resistance, and stem-like phenotype, all of them directly related to poor prognosis in cancer patients [7,8,9,10].
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