LncRNA HOXA-AS2 Facilitates Tumorigenesis and Progression of Papillary Thyroid Cancer by Modulating the miR-15a-5p/HOXA3 Axis

Abstract

The long non-coding RNA HOXA-AS2 has been found to be an oncogene in several types of human malignant tumors. However, its role in regulating the occurrence and development of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is still unclear. The present study investigated the function and mechanism(s) of HOXA-AS2 in PTC progression. Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, HOXA-AS2 was found to be differentially expressed in PTC tissues and cell lines. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that the overall survival rate of patients with higher levels of HOXA-AS2 was lower than those with relatively lower levels. Loss-of-function assays revealed that HOXA-AS2 knockdown inhibited PTC progression by inhibiting cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion and accelerating apoptosis. Mechanistically, lossof-function assays showed a positive correlation between HOXA3 and HOXA-AS2 expression. Subcellular fractionation assay results revealed abundant HOXA-AS2 expression in the cytoplasm of PTC cells. Additionally, FOXD2-AS1 was found to upregulate HOXA3 expression by binding to miR-15a-5p. Finally, rescue assays demonstrated the overall function of the HOXA-AS2/miR-15a-5p/HOXA3 axis in PTC progression. These findings will significantly contribute to further research and the development of more efficient treatments for thyroid cancer in the future.

A SOX9‐AS1/miR‐5590‐3p/SOX9 positive feedback loop drives tumor growth and metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma through the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway

“…We tried to figure out the mechanism underlying SOX9 upregulation in HCC. Increasing studies have shown that lncRNA are functional in regulating gene expression in human cancers (Liu et al ., ) and that they potentially regulate their nearby genes (Jiang et al ., ; Yan et al ., ). By searching UCSC (http://genome.ucsc.edu/) we found that lncRNA SOX9‐AS1 is the neighbor of SOX9 (Fig.…”

“…However, the regulation of SOX9 expression by lncRNA in HCC is rarely explored. Previous studies have indicated that lncRNA potentially regulate their nearby genes (Jiang et al ., ; Yan et al ., ), so we searched for nearby lncRNA for SOX9 in the UCSC database. Interestingly, we found a new lncRNA SOX9‐AS1.…”

“…We were interested in SOX9 antisense RNA 1 (SOX9‐AS1) because it is a nearby gene to SOX9, and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database showed its upregulation in HCC. It has been revealed that lncRNA potentially regulates its nearby genes (Jiang et al ., ; Yan et al ., ). Therefore, we speculated that SOX9‐AS1 might be related to SOX9 and participate in HCC.…”

LncRNA ZFPM2‐AS1 promotes lung adenocarcinoma progression by interacting with UPF1 to destabilize ZFPM2

“…Then, we tried to explore the mechanism of ZFPM2‐AS1. LncRNAs often function in cancers through regulating target genes, and studies have shown that lncRNAs possess potential to regulate its nearby genes (Jiang et al , ; Yan et al , ). Through UCSC database (http://genome.ucsc.edu/), we identified ZFPM2 as a nearby gene for ZFPM2‐AS1 (Fig.…”

“…Based on the known knowledge that lncRNAs can regulate target gene expression to realize its function in cancers and that lncRNAs could potentially regulate its nearby genes (Jiang et al , ; Yan et al , ), we browsed UCSC database and found that ZFPM2 was a nearby gene for ZFPM2‐AS1, suggesting that ZFPM2‐AS1 might regulate ZFPM2 expression. Formerly, studies have shown that ZFPM2 was involved in tumor pathogenesis in several cancers (Hoene et al , ; Laitinen et al , ), and have suggested the tumor‐suppressive effect of ZFPM2 (Hyun et al , ; Manuylov, Smagulova, and Tevosian, ).…”