The Role of Long Non-Coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in Female Oriented Cancers

Abstract

Recent advances in molecular biology have discovered the mysterious role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) as potential biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and targets for advanced cancer therapy. Studies have shown that lncRNAs take part in the incidence and development of cancers in humans. However, previously they were considered as mere RNA noise or transcription byproducts lacking any biological function. In this article, we present a summary of the progress on ascertaining the biological functions of five lncRNAs (HOTAIR, NEAT1, H19, MALAT1, and MEG3) in female-oriented cancers, including breast and gynecological cancers, with the perspective of carcinogenesis, cancer proliferation, and metastasis. We provide the current state of knowledge from the past five years of the literature to discuss the clinical importance of such lncRNAs as therapeutic targets or early diagnostic biomarkers. We reviewed the consequences, either oncogenic or tumor-suppressing features, of their aberrant expression in female-oriented cancers. We tried to explain the established mechanism by which they regulate cancer proliferation and metastasis by competing with miRNAs and other mechanisms involved via regulating genes and signaling pathways. In addition, we revealed the association between stated lncRNAs and chemo-resistance or radio-resistance and their potential clinical applications and future perspectives.

p73-regulated FER1L4 lncRNA sponges the oncogenic potential of miR-1273g-3p and aids in the suppression of colorectal cancer metastasis

“…LncRNAs control gene expression at various levels that encompass transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and translational modulation ( Batista and Chang, 2013 ; Fernandes et al., 2019 ; Geisler and Coller, 2013 ; Rinn and Chang, 2012 ; Xu et al., 2014 ). A mounting number of studies reveal that lncRNAs portray pivotal roles in tumorigenesis and may be utilized in the diagnosis of cancers ( Chen et al., 2014 ; Geisler and Coller, 2013 ; Naz et al., 2021 ; Xu et al., 2014 ). Various studies demonstrate that the deregulated lncRNAs have a major role in the pathogenesis of many human cancers, such as bladder cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, breast cancer, and esophageal cancer (; Li et al., 2014 ; Shao et al., 2014 ; Tang et al., 2013 ).…”

The Regulatory Functions and the Mechanisms of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Cervical Cancer

“…For example, HOX antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) is one of the most well-studied oncogenic lncRNAs involved in the carcinogenesis of several types of cancer. An elevated HOTAIR expression is associated with resistance to chemotherapeutics, suggesting that inhibitors of HOTAIR could potentially resensitize a patient’s tumor to a specific chemotherapy [ 19 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. One of the first-identified lncRNAs, H19, acts as a decoy for several tumor-suppressor miRNAs [ 25 ].…”

Epigenetic alterations in canine mammary cancer

“…lncRNAs are molecules with at least 200 nucleotides transcribed mainly by RNA polymerase II that do not encode proteins and can influence gene expression at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels, influencing several cellular processes, such as proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis ( Naz et al, 2021 ; Smolarz et al, 2021 ). Despite a few studies in the area, lncRNAs have great potential as predictive markers of canine mammary cancer.…”