Accumulating studies highlight the critical role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the development of various human cancers. Extracellular leucine rich repeat and fibronectin type III domain containing 1-antisense RNA 1 (ELFN1-AS1) was shown to be a newly found lncRNA that abnormally expressed in human tumors. However, till now the specific function of this lncRNA in esophageal cancer (ESCA) remains unknown. In this study, we discovered that higher ELFN1-AS1 expression indicated shorter patient survival in pan-cancer, including ESCA, using online The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) tools. The lncRNA ELFN1-AS1 was significantly up-regulated in ESCA tissues and cell lines when compared with the counterparts. Down-regulation of ELFN1-AS1 restrained cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of ESCA in vitro. In addition, we found that the expression of microRNA-183-3p (miR-183-3p) and ELFN1-AS1 or glutamine-fructose-6-phosphate transaminase 1 (GFPT1) were inversely correlated in ESCA. Both ELFN1-AS1 and GFPT1 are direct targets of miR-183-3p in ESCA. The effects of ELFN1-AS1 knockdown on ESCA progression were partially rescued by inhibition of miR-183-3p or over-expression of GFPT1. In summary, the results of this study suggest that the lncRNA ELFN1-AS1 facilitates the progression of ESCA by acting as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to promote GFPT1 expression via sponging miR-183-3p.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to participate in the development of multiple cancers, including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). A growing number of studies have demonstrated that lncRNA myocardial infarction‐associated transcript (MIAT) played an oncogenic role in several human malignancies, but its expression and function in ESCC remain unknown. In this study, we found that MIAT was significantly increased in ESCC tissues, as well as cell lines. Downregulation of MIAT suppressed ESCC cell proliferation, cell cycle, migration, and invasion. Mechanical studies revealed that MIAT promoted ESCC cell proliferation and cell cycle by acting as a competitively endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to upregulate the inner centromere protein (INCENP) expression through sponging miR‐1301‐3p. Furthermore, we uncovered that MIAT‐SOX2 formed a positive feedback loop to facilitate cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of ESCC. Our findings indicated that MIAT promoted ESCC progression via targeting INCENP/miR‐1301‐3p axis and interacting with SOX2, suggesting novel potential therapeutic targets for ESCC.

The aberrant expression of long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been involved in the progression of many human tumors including osteosarcoma (OS). However, the biological function and the underlying mechanism of the lncRNA myocardial infarction‐associated transcript (MIAT) in OS remain unclear. In the present study, we found that lncRNA MIAT was significantly up‐regulated in both OS tissues and cell lines, and high expression of MIAT was positively associated with tumor size and lymph node metastasis of OS patients. In addition, knockdown of MIAT inhibited proliferation, migration, invasion and promoted apoptosis of OS cells in vitro. Moreover, the expression of MIAT was negatively associated with miR‐128‐3p but positively correlated with vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGFC) in OS. Further mechanistic study revealed that lncRNA MIAT promoted OS progression by up‐regulating VEGFC via sponging miR‐128‐3p in vitro. Taken together, our results suggest that MIAT/miR‐128‐3p/VEGFC axis contributes to OS progression and may be used as a novel therapeutic target for OS. © 2019 IUBMB Life, 9999(9999):1–9, 2019

Background Globally, the epidemiology of non‐SARS‐CoV‐2 respiratory viruses like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza virus was remarkably influenced by the implementation of non‐pharmacological interventions (NPIs) during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Our study explored the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of pediatric patients hospitalized with RSV or influenza infection before and during the pandemic after relaxation of NPIs in central China. Methods This hospital‐based prospective case‐series study screened pediatric inpatients (age ≤ 14 years) enrolled with acute respiratory infections (ARI) for RSV or influenza infection from 2018 to 2021. The changes in positivity rates of viral detection, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics were analyzed and compared. Results Median ages of all eligible ARI patients from 2018–2019 were younger than those from 2020–2021, so were ages of cases infected with RSV or influenza (RSV: 4.2 months vs. 7.2 months; influenza: 27.3 months vs. 37.0 months). Where the positivity rate for influenza was considerably decreased in 2020–2021 (1.4%, 27/1964) as compared with 2018–2019 (2.9%, 94/3275, P < 0.05), it was increased for RSV (11.4% [372/3275] vs. 13.3% [262/1964], P < 0.05) in the same period. The number of severe cases for both RSV and influenza infection were also decreased in 2020–2021 compared with 2018–2019. Conclusions The implemented NPIs have had varied impacts on common respiratory viruses. A more effective prevention strategy for RSV infections in childhood is needed.

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