The long non-coding RNA lncFOXO1 suppresses growth of human breast cancer cells through association with BAP1.

Breast cancer, one of the common cancers of women, is the leading cause of death among women below the age of 50 years in western countries. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to be involved in diverse biological processes, both physical and pathological. However, to date, only a few lncRNAs have been functionally identified in breast cancer, and the overall pathophysiological contributions of lncRNAs to breast cancer remain largely unknown. In the present study, we identified a novel lncRNA termed lncFOXO1 through microarray screening. lncFOXO1 is significantly decreased in breast cancer tissues and cell lines and downregulation of lncFOXO1 expression associates with poorer overall survival. Functional assays demonstrated its suppressive role in breast cancer in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, lncFOXO1 suppressed the growth of breast cancer by increasing FOXO1 transcription. Moreover, we found that lncFOXO1 associated with BRCA-1-associated protein 1 (BAP1) and regulates its binding and the level of mono-ubiquitinated H2A at K119 (ubH2AK119) at FOXO1 promoter.