Wu H, Wang W, Zhu J
School of Basic Medical Science, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030600, P.R. China.
Clin Transl Oncol. 2021 Oct;23(10):2057-2065. doi: 10.1007/s12094-021-02609-6. Epub 2021 Apr 23.
Laryngeal cancer has a poor prognosis when progressing to an advanced stage with limited treatment options. Therefore, understanding the underlying mechanisms is important to identify novel treatment targets. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to play oncogenic roles in cancer, including in laryngeal cancer. We previously discovered that the lncRNA RP11-297P16.3 is overexpressed in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) based on RNA-sequencing data. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of knockdown of RP11-297P16.3 on the migration and invasion of LSCC cells, and the significance of these effects.
Six methods were employed to assess the function of RP11-297P16.3 including gene silencing, RT-PCR, the 5-Ethynyl-20-deoxyuridine (EdU) staining assay, Scratch wound-healing assay, transwell assay, and Western blot.
The results show that the expression of RP11-297P16.3 in the si-lncRNA group was significantly decreased compared with those in the BC (blank control) and NC (negative control) groups. Moreover, knockdown of RP11-297P16.3 significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of LSCC cells but had no effect on cell proliferation. The protein expression of N-cadherin and vimentin was notably decreased after RP11-297P16.3 knockdown; whereas, the protein expression of cadherin was significantly increased CONCLUSION: These results suggested that RP11-297P16.3 may inhibit the migration and invasion of LSCC cells by regulating the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process, suggesting that RP11-297P16.3 is a potential new target for treating LSCC.
喉癌发展至晚期时预后较差，治疗选择有限。因此，了解其潜在机制对于确定新的治疗靶点很重要。长链非编码RNA（lncRNA）已被证明在癌症（包括喉癌）中发挥致癌作用。我们之前基于RNA测序数据发现lncRNA RP11-297P16.3在喉鳞状细胞癌（LSCC）中过表达。因此，本研究的目的是探讨敲低RP11-297P16.3对LSCC细胞迁移和侵袭的影响以及这些影响的意义。
采用六种方法评估RP11-297P16.3的功能，包括基因沉默、逆转录-聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）、5-乙炔基-2'-脱氧尿苷（EdU）染色试验、划痕伤口愈合试验、Transwell试验和蛋白质免疫印迹法。
结果显示，与空白对照组（BC）和阴性对照组（NC）相比，小干扰RNA（si-lncRNA）组中RP11-297P16.3的表达显著降低。此外，敲低RP11-297P16.3可显著抑制LSCC细胞的迁移和侵袭，但对细胞增殖无影响。敲低RP11-297P16.3后，N-钙黏蛋白和波形蛋白的蛋白表达显著降低；而钙黏蛋白的蛋白表达显著增加。
这些结果表明，RP11-297P16.3可能通过调节上皮-间质转化过程来抑制LSCC细胞的迁移和侵袭，提示RP11-297P16.3是治疗LSCC的潜在新靶点。
