Crosstalk of Long Non-coding RNAs and EMT: Searching the Missing Pieces of an Incomplete Puzzle for Lung Cancer Therapy.

BACKGROUND

Lung cancer has the first place among cancer-related deaths worldwide and demands novel strategies in the treatment of this life-threatening disorder. The aim of this review is to explore the regulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in lung cancer.

INTRODUCTION

LncRNAs can be considered as potential factors for targeting in cancer therapy, since they regulate a bunch of biological processes, e.g. cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. The abnormal expression of lncRNAs occurs in different cancer cells. On the other hand, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical mechanism participating in migration and metastasis of cancer cells.

METHODS

Different databases, including Google Scholar, Pubmed and Science direct, were searched for collecting articles using keywords such as "LncRNA", "EMT", and "Lung cancer".

RESULTS

There are tumor-suppressing lncRNAs that can suppress EMT and metastasis of lung cancer cells. Expression of such lncRNAs undergoes down-regulation in lung cancer progression and restoring their expression is of importance in suppressing lung cancer migration. There are tumor- promoting lncRNAs triggering EMT in lung cancer and enhancing their migration.

CONCLUSION

LncRNAs are potential regulators of EMT in lung cancer, and targeting them, both pharmacologically and genetically, can be of importance in controlling the migration of lung cancer cells.