Long non-coding RNA CCAT2 is associated with poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma and promotes tumor metastasis by regulating Snail2-mediated epithelial–mesenchymal transition

Abstract

Increasing evidence has demonstrated that aberrant expressions of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in various malignancies, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to investigate the role of lncRNA colon cancer-associated transcript 2 (CCAT2) in the progression of HCC. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis confirmed that CCAT2 was upregulated in HCC cell lines and cancerous tissues compared with normal liver cell line and adjacent normal tissue samples. The level of CCAT2 was positively associated with tumor–node–metastasis stages and vessel invasion. Survival analyses revealed that high CCAT2 expression predicted poor prognostic outcomes, serving as an independent prognostic factor for HCC patients. Patients with high CCAT2 expression had a 1.849-fold increased risk of death compared with those with low CCAT2 expression. Moreover, we also found that knockdown of CCAT2 expression reduced cell migration and invasion in vitro. We further demonstrated that CCAT2 played a key role in enhancing the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) through the regulation of vimentin, E-cadherin and transcription factor snail2 expression. Taken together, our findings showed that high CCAT2 expression is associated with poor survival in HCC patients. CCAT2 promotes HCC progression by regulating Snail2-induced EMT. CCAT2 may be a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC.

Long non-coding RNA CCAT2 as a therapeutic target in colorectal cancer

“…Similar results were obtained by Guo et al in glioma tissue and cell lines [13]. Another group showed CCAT2 upregulation associated with poor overall survival and TNM stage in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) [14]. Knockdown of CCAT2 inhibited cell migration and invasion in vitro.…”

Prognostic and Clinicopathological Significance of CCAT2 in Chinese Patients with Various Tumors

“…After reading the full text, 16 studies were included in the present meta-analysis (excluding the 2 publications (10, 27) examining populations other than the Chinese population). The major characteristics of all eligible studies are shown in Tables I and II. A total of 1,711 Chinese patients with 13 different cancers were included in this meta-analysis, which included esophageal cancer (13), cervical cancer (14), gastric cancer (15,20,21), small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (11), ovarian cancer (16), oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) (17), bladder cancer (28), prostate cancer(PC) (18), breast cancer (12), renal cell carcinoma (RCC) (29), colon cancer (30), glioma (31) and hepatocellular carcinoma (19,32). Among the 16 publications, 11 studies assessed the relationship between CCAT2…”

Dysregulated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in hepatocellular carcinoma: implications for tumorigenesis, disease progression, and liver cancer stem cells

“…These data suggest that overexpression of lncRNA UCA1 may promote HCC development by driving EMT [ 58 ]. As mentioned above, CCAT2 is a lncRNA up-regulated in HCC and high level of lncRNA CCAT2 correlates with poorer patient survival and a worse prognosis [ 59 ]. This lncRNA not only promotes the proliferation of HCC cells, but also activates EMT via up-regulating Snail2 [ 59 ].…”