Project description:Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common invasive malignancy worldwide with poor clinical outcomes. Increasing amount of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to be involved in cancer development. However, lncRNAs that are functional in ESCC and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. Methods: Transcriptomic analysis was performed to identify dysregulated lncRNAs in ESCC tissue samples. The high expression of LINC00680 in ESCC was validated by RT-qPCR, and the oncogenic functions of LINC00680 was investigated by cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion assays in ESCC cells in vitro and xenografts derived from ESCC cells in mice. RNA-seq, competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network analysis, and luciferase reporter assays were carried out to identify LINC00680 target genes and the microRNAs (miRNAs) bound to LINC00680. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) were used for in vivo treatment. Results: Transcriptome profiling revealed that a large number of lncRNAs was dysregulated in ESCC tissues. Notably, LINC00680 was highly expressed, and upregulation of LINC00680 was associated with large tumor size, advanced tumor stage, and poor prognosis. Functionally, knockdown of LINC00680 restrained ESCC cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion in vitro and inhibited tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, LINC00680 was found to act as a ceRNA by sponging miR-423-5p to regulate PAK6 (p21-activated kinase 6) expression in ESCC cells. The cell viability and motility inhibition induced by LINC00680 knockdown was significantly reversed upon PAK6 restoration and miR-423-5p inhibition. Furthermore, ASO targeting LINC00680 substantially suppressed ESCC both in vitro and in vivo. Conclusions: An oncogenic lncRNA, LINC00680, was identified in ESCC, which functions as a ceRNA by sponging miR-423-5p to promote PAK6 expression and ESCC. LINC00680/miR-423-5p/PAK6 axis may serve as promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for ESCC.

Project description:Objective: Globally, esophageal cancer is among the most deadly cancer forms. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) are frequently found to have important regulatory roles. We aim to assess the lncRNA expression profile of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and identify prognosis related lncRNAs. Design: LncRNA expression profiles were studied by microarray in paired tumor and normal tissues from 119 ESCC patients, and validated by qRT-PCR. The 119 patients were subsequently divided randomly into training (n=60) and test (n=59) groups. A prognostic signature was developed from the training group using a random forest supervised classification algorithm and a nearest shrunken centroid algorithm, and validated in test group and further in an independent cohort (n=60). The independence of the signature in survival prediction was evaluated by Multivariable Cox regression analysis. Results: LncRNAs showed significantly altered expression in ESCC tissues. From the training group, we identified a three-lncRNA signature (including the lncRNAs ENST00000435885•1, XLOC_013014, and ENST00000547963•1) which classified the patients into two groups with significantly different overall survival (median survival 19•2 months vs. not reached, p<0•0001). The signature was applied to the test group (median survival 21•5 months vs. not reached, p=0•0030) and independent cohort (median survival 25•8 months vs. not reached, p=0•0187) and showed similar prognostic values in both. Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that the signature was an independent prognostic factor for ESCC patients. Stratified analysis suggested that the signature was prognostic within clinical stages. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the three-lncRNA signature can serve as a novel biomarker for the prognosis of ESCC patients. Application of it allows for more accurate survival prediction. The lncRNA expression profiles of cancer and adjacent normal tissues form 119 ESCC patients were studied by microarray and an lncRNA signature that can perdict the survival of ESCC patients was identified.

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Genome-wide analyses of long non-coding RNA expression profiles and functional network analysis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

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