The long non-coding RNAs, a new cancer diagnostic and therapeutic gold mine

Pan, Qi; Du, Xiang

doi:10.1038/modpathol.2012.160

Cited by 440 publications

(334 citation statements)

References 109 publications

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“…Particularly, lncRNA expression levels may be extremely useful for monitoring tumors, and we consider lncRNAs to be novel cancer diagnostic tools and a source of future therapies. 33 The involvement of lncRNAs in CRC CRC remains a major health problem and represents the third most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. 34 Most cases of CRC usually progress from benign polyps to malignant adenocarcinomas and distant metastases; therefore, screening and early diagnosis, as well as early treatment, help to extend the long-term survival of patients.…”

Section: Lncrnas In Cancermentioning

confidence: 99%

Long non-coding RNAs in colorectal cancer: implications for pathogenesis and clinical application

Pan

2014

Modern Pathology

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Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of newly identified non-coding RNA molecules that are emerging as key regulators of tumor initiation and development. Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a major health problem worldwide, and there remains a need to further refine the current screening approaches as well as provide tailored diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Multiple dysregulated lncRNAs participate in tumorigenesis through a variety of molecular mechanisms, and various regulatory factors frequently contribute to the aberrant expression of lncRNAs in CRC, thereby allowing malignant transformation. Additionally, the association of dysregulated lncRNAs with specific developmental stages and clinical outcomes indicates their potential as strong diagnostic and prognostic predictors as well as therapeutic targets. Here we provide a brief overview of the known functions of CRC-associated lncRNAs, describe some potential molecular mechanisms that underlie changes in lncRNA expression in CRC, and attempt to uncover their clinical and therapeutic potential. Keywords: colorectal cancer; diagnosis; dysregulation; long non-coding RNA; prognosis High-throughput genome-scale studies have demonstrated that more than 93% of the DNA sequences in the human genome are actively transcribed. 1 However, only approximately 5-10% of the sequences are stably transcribed into mRNA or non-coding RNA (ncRNA). Genome tiling arrays have revealed that the amount of non-coding sequence is at least four times larger than the amount of coding sequence, which indicates that only 1% of the human genome is composed of protein-coding genes and the remaining 4-9% is transcribed into ncRNAs. 2 Therefore, ncRNAs constitute a very large proportion of the total RNA molecules.The function and clinical significance of short regulatory ncRNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), were elucidated first, 3 and the regulatory roles of miRNAs have been broadly recognized in almost all physiological and pathological processes in the body, including carcinogenesis. 4 For example, we previously reported that MIR95 promotes cell proliferation and targets sorting nexin 1 in human colorectal carcinoma; 5 moreover, in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, the plasma levels of MIR29a and MIR92a are significantly upregulated and the plasma levels of MIR601 and MIR760 are significantly downregulated; thus the levels of these miRNAs have good diagnostic value for CRC screening. 6,7 According to their transcript size, ncRNAs are grouped into two major classes: (i) small ncRNAs with transcripts o200 nucleotides (nt; eg, aforementioned siRNAs and miRNAs, Piwi-interacting RNAs, and some retrotransposon-derived RNAs) and (ii) long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), this class includes five broad categories: sense, antisense, bidirectional, intronic, and intergenic, based on the proximity between neighboring transcripts. 8 For a time, lncRNAs was commonly defined as a proteincoding transcripts that is 4200 nt. 9 However, this definition is arbitrary and ...

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Section: Lncrnas In Cancermentioning

confidence: 99%

Long non-coding RNAs in colorectal cancer: implications for pathogenesis and clinical application

Pan

2014

Modern Pathology

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“…Moreover, lncRNAs have emerged as players in the cancer paradigm, demonstrating potential roles in both oncogenic and tumor-suppressive pathways (18)(19)(20)(21). Increasing evidence indicates that these transcripts are frequently aberrantly expressed in cancer, and some of them have been implicated in diagnosis and prognosis (22,23). Recent progress suggests that the involvement of lncRNAs in human cancers could be far more prevalent that previously appreciated.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

The Bromodomain protein BRD4 controls HOTAIR, a long noncoding RNA essential for glioblastoma proliferation

Pastori

Kapranov

Penas

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

179

147

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Bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) domain proteins have emerged as promising therapeutic targets in glioblastoma and many other cancers. Small molecule inhibitors of BET bromodomain proteins reduce expression of several oncogenes required for Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) progression. However, the mechanism through which BET protein inhibition reduces GBM growth is not completely understood. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important epigenetic regulators with critical roles in cancer initiation and malignant progression, but mechanistic insight into their expression and regulation by BET bromodomain inhibitors remains elusive. In this study, we used Helicos single molecule sequencing to comprehensively profile lncRNAs differentially expressed in GBM, and we identified a subset of GBM-specific lncRNAs whose expression is regulated by BET proteins. Treatment of GBM cells with the BET bromdomain inhibitor I-BET151 reduced levels of the tumorpromoting lncRNA HOX transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR) and restored the expression of several other GBM down-regulated lncRNAs. Conversely, overexpression of HOTAIR in conjunction with I-BET151 treatment abrogates the antiproliferative activity of the BET bromodomain inhibitor. Moreover, chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated binding of Bromodomain Containing 4 (BRD4) to the HOTAIR promoter, suggesting that BET proteins can directly regulate lncRNA expression. Our data unravel a previously unappreciated mechanism through which BET proteins control tumor growth of glioblastoma cells and suggest that modulation of lncRNA networks may, in part, mediate the antiproliferative effects of many epigenetic inhibitors currently in clinical trials for cancer and other diseases.glioblastoma | long noncoding RNAs | epigenetics | BRD4 | I-BET151

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“…Since the ENI mediates reversible changes in gene expression, its components are ideal drug targets [28,92]. While the importance of epigenetic effectors in NEPC is emerging, the role of ncRNAs in this disease is still largely unknown.LncRNAs represent a vast portion of our transcriptome (more than 50,000 unique sequences [93]) and have been described as a "gold mine" for the discovery of new biomarkers and therapeutic targets [65]. To gain insights into the role of lncRNAs in NEPC, we analyzed our collection of patient-derived PCa xenografts, searching for lncRNAs associated with NEPC.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Role of Epigenetics and Long Noncoding RNA MIAT in Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer

et al. 2016

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Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is the most lethal prostatic neoplasm.NEPC is thought to originate from the trans-differentiation of AR-positive adenocarcinoma cells. We have previously shown that an epigenetic/non-coding interactome (ENI) orchestrates cancer cells' plasticity, thereby allowing the emergence of metastatic, drugresistant neoplasms. The primary objective of this manuscript is to discuss evidence indicating that some components of the ENI (Polycomb genes, microRNAs) play a key role in NEPC initiation and progression. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) represent vast and largely unexplored component of the ENI. Their role in NEPC has not been investigated. We show preliminary evidence indicating that a lncRNA (MIAT) is selectively up-regulated in NEPCs and might interact with Polycomb genes. Our results indicate that lncRNAs can be exploited as new biomarkers and therapeutic targets for NEPC.Keywords: Neuroendocrine prostate cancer; MIAT; Long non-coding RNAs; Polycomb; Epigenetic/non-coding interactome; Trans-differentiation. Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer: Clinical and Molecular FeaturesIn adult males, the prostate is a small acorn-shaped tissue with ductal-acinar histology surrounding the urethra at the base of the bladder. Its main function is to contribute secretory proteins to the seminal fluid [1]. The adult prostate is a pseudo-stratified epithelium composed of three main cell lineages (Fig.1, left panel): 1) secretory luminal cells are the predominant cell type; these cells express keratins (K8, K18), the androgen receptor (AR) and secretory proteins such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostatic specific acid phosphatase (PSAP);2) basal cells expressing K5 and K14 keratins and p63 are the second major cell type;3) neuroendocrine cells (NEC) expressing chromogranin A (CHGA), synaptophysin (SYP), and neuropeptides are scattered throughout the basal layer and comprise less than 1% of normal prostatic glandular epithelium [1][2][3].Prostate cancer (PCa) represents the second most frequently diagnosed neoplasm and is the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in males worldwide [4,5]. In keeping with the composition of prostate epithelium, more than 95% of PCas are classified as adenocarcinomas, which show luminal phenotype and AR expression [6] (Fig.1, middle panel).Endogenous androgens, mainly produced by the testis, bind to the AR and fuel prostate adenocarcinoma proliferation [7]. For this reason, androgen-deprivation therapy (a.k.a. castration) is an effective therapeutic strategy for this disease. However, patients invariably relapse despite castrate androgen levels (castration-resistant PCa, CRPC) mainly via genetic and epigenetic alterations that facilitate ligand-independent AR activation, amplify the ARdependent signaling, or trigger different proliferative pathways [7]. CRPCs are characterized by substantially worse prognoses, but chemotherapeutics and newly approved hormonal treatments (e.g., Enzalutamide [8] and Abiraterone [9]) are still effective in p...

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The long non-coding RNAs, a new cancer diagnostic and therapeutic gold mine

Cited by 440 publications

References 109 publications

Long non-coding RNAs in colorectal cancer: implications for pathogenesis and clinical application

Long non-coding RNAs in colorectal cancer: implications for pathogenesis and clinical application

The Bromodomain protein BRD4 controls HOTAIR, a long noncoding RNA essential for glioblastoma proliferation

The Role of Epigenetics and Long Noncoding RNA MIAT in Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer

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