Functional Role of a Novel Long Noncoding RNA in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression and Metastasis.

Emerging studies demonstrate that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) participate in the regulation of various cancers. In the current study, a novel has been identified and explored in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). To discover a new regulatory circuitry in which RNAs crosstalk with each other, the transcriptome of lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA from ESCC and adjacent nonmalignant specimens were analyzed using multiple microarrays and diverse bioinformatics platforms. The functional role and mechanism of a novel were further investigated by gain-of-function and loss-of-function assays and An ESCC biomarker panel, consisting of , , and , was validated by qRT-PCR and hybridization using samples from 148 patients. as an oncogene is highly expressed in ESCC tissues and cell lines, and promotes ESCC cell proliferation and metastasis. Mechanistically, promotes expression of transcription factor Snail1 by competitively binding , resulting in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) cascade. Moreover, also induces FSCN1 expression by sponging and upregulation of mRNA-stabilizing protein HuR, which further promotes ESCC invasion cascades. We also discovered and validated a clinically applicable ESCC biomarker panel, consisting of , , and , that is significantly associated with overall survival and provides additional prognostic evidence for ESCC patients. As a novel regulator, plays an important role in ESCC cell proliferation and metastasis. The regulatory axis provides bona fide targets for anti-ESCC therapies. .