Decreased expression of long non-coding RNA LOC728290 in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. Despite progress in the diagnosis and treatment of HCC, prognosis remains unfavorable. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as important factors in tumorigenesis and cancer progression; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms and clinical significance of lncRNAs in HCC remain largely unknown. The present study examined the expression pattern and clinical significance of a novel lncRNA, LOC728290, in HCC. Expression of LOC728290 was markedly decreased in HCC tissues compared with adjacent non-tumor liver tissues, as detected using the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for LOC728290 was 0.728. The expression of LOC728290 was associated with the level of α-fetoprotein and microvascular invasion. Furthermore, patients with low LOC728290 expression exhibited decreased recurrence-free survival times (P<0.05) compared with those with high LOC728290 expression. The results of the present study indicated that downregulation of LOC728290 in patients with HCC may be a powerful tumor biomarker, with potential clinical applications in prognosis as well as a therapeutic target.

New LncRNAs in Chronic Hepatitis C progression: from fibrosis to hepatocellular carcinoma

“…In addition, up-regulation of LINC01018 was shown to decrease proliferation while promoting apoptosis of HCC cells 54 . LINC02027 (alias LOC728290) was found down-regulated in HCC, as also observed by Zhang et al 55 . Down-regulation was positively associated with increased serum α-fetoprotein levels and microvascular invasion.…”

The Role of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Hepatocarcinogenesis

“…Recently, Yang et al, identified HAND2-AS1 as a potential biomarker for HCC tumorigenesis and metastasis [ 75 ]. Similarly, high expression levels of CASC15 [ 175 ], CYTOR (also known as Linc00152 ) [ 174 ], HANR [ 176 ], ICR (ICAM-1-Related ncRNA) [ 177 ], linc-UFC1 [ 166 ], lncRNA-ATB [ 170 ], lncSHRG [ 178 ], MVIH [ 179 ], PANDAR [ 180 ], PCAT14 [ 181 ], SNHG6 [ 182 ], SNHG20 [ 183 ], TINCR [ 184 ], TMCC1-AS1 [ 72 ], UBE2CP3 [ 185 ], WRAP53 [ 116 ]], ZEB1-AS1 [ 186 ], as well as the downregulation of LOC728290 [ 187 ], GAS5 [ 188 ], DILC [ 189 ], or WT1-AS [ 190 ], have been variably shown to be correlated with clinical severity, aggressive pathological features, metastasis, and/or poor outcome in HCC patients ( Table S1 ). However, it should be noted that given that lncRNA is a fairly young research field, many of these associations have thus far been reported in single studies.…”