Expression of HOTAIR and MEG3 are negatively associated with positive status in gastric cancer patients.

BACKGROUND

Chronic infection with is one of the main causes of gastric cancer (GC). Besides, lncRNAs play crucial roles in cancer pathobiology including GC. Here we aimed to investigate the expression of MEG3 and HOTAIR in gastric cancer tissues and evaluate their association with the status.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One hundred samples were obtained. Total RNA was extracted, cDNA was synthesized and expression of MEG3 and HOTAIR was assessed using qRT-PCR. Association of their expression with status and other clinicopathological characteristics were investigated. Furthermore, sensitivity and specificity of the MEG3 and HOTAIR expression levels for discrimination of the tumor and non-tumor samples were evaluated by Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

RESULTS

We observed upregulation of HOTAIR but downregulation of MEG3 in tumor compared to the non-tumor tissues. We also found a significant negative association between their expression levels and positive status. However, only the expression level of HOTAIR was significantly associated with the size and stage of the tumor ( < 0.05). The ROC curve analysis revealed that the expression levels of MEG3 and HOTAIR might discriminate GC tumor and non-tumor tissues.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, this study revealed a negative association between H. pylori infection and expression of MEG3 and HOTAIR. The results suggested that the expression level of these lncRNAs might be considered as potential biomarkers for GC.