Biological functions and clinical significance of long noncoding RNAs in bladder cancer

Abstract

Bladder cancer (BCa) is one of the 10 most common cancers with high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a large class of noncoding RNA transcripts, consist of more than 200 nucleotides and play a significant role in the regulation of molecular interactions and cellular pathways during the occurrence and development of various cancers. In recent years, with the rapid advancement of high-throughput gene sequencing technology, several differentially expressed lncRNAs have been discovered in BCa, and their functions have been proven to have an impact on BCa development, such as cell growth and proliferation, metastasis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), angiogenesis, and drug-resistance. Furthermore, evidence suggests that lncRNAs are significantly associated with BCa patients’ clinicopathological characteristics, especially tumor grade, TNM stage, and clinical progression stage. In addition, lncRNAs have the potential to more accurately predict BCa patient prognosis, suggesting their potential as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for BCa patients in the future. In this review, we briefly summarize and discuss recent research progress on BCa-associated lncRNAs, while focusing on their biological functions and mechanisms, clinical significance, and targeted therapy in BCa oncogenesis and malignant progression.

Susceptibility Loci in SLC15A1, UGT1A3, and CWC27 Genes Associated with Bladder Cancer in the Northeast Chinese Population

“…BCa incidence and mortality rates vary by region and country, and the male incidence is about four times those of women globally [ 2 ]. Both environmental factors, such as smoking and occupational exposure [ 3 ], and inherited genes or noncoding RNAs are the etiology of BCa [ 4 , 5 ]. Many genes, including BIRC5 , P53 , BCL2 , BAX , COX2 , NMP22 , and MTHFR , were associated with BCa patients [ 6 ].…”

Long Noncoding RNA LINC02470 Sponges MicroRNA-143-3p and Enhances SMAD3-Mediated Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition to Promote the Aggressive Properties of Bladder Cancer

“…Our results indicated that linc02470 is a potent ceRNA competitor of miR-143-3p, although other ceRNA competitors of miR-143 or miR-145 still need to be explored in the future. Dysregulation of the EMT process has become a major issue in bladder cancer progression and therapeutic responses [ 10 , 11 ], and lncRNAs or other ncRNAs participate in important regulatory processes (reviewed in [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]). The ceRNA hypothesis has been employed as an easily accessible strategy to discover interactions between EMT members and lncRNAs or other ncRNAs [ 12 ].…”

“…Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) are noncoding RNAs with lengths exceeding 200 nt that are involved in a variety of cellular physiological processes [ 13 ] and participate in bladder cancer initiation, progression, and therapeutic resistance (reviewed in [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]). In addition, microRNAs (miRNAs) function as ubiquitous posttranscriptional regulators that affect RNA stability and translational rate by pairing to miRNA response elements within target RNAs [ 18 , 19 ].…”

Genome-wide Exploration of a Pyroptosis-Related Long Non-Coding RNA Signature Associated With the Prognosis and Immune Response in Patients With Bladder Cancer

“…Therefore, the important role of lncRNA in BLCA has also been gradually emphasized in recent years. The development of genome sequencing and bioinformatics can help identify many molecular biomarkers to guide the treatment of BLCA patients, but only a few of these can be applied in a clinical setting ( Zhang et al, 2021 ). Therefore, identifying the drivers and inhibitors of bladder carcinogenesis and understanding their mechanisms are essential for detecting new therapeutic targets and prolonging the survival of BLCA patients.…”