Han Yali, Zhao Guo, Shi Xinhang, Wang Yushan, Wen Xin, Zhang Lu, Guo Xiangqian
Departments of Physiology, Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Bioinformatics Center, Henan Provincial Engineering Center for Tumor Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
Department of Preventive Medicine, Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Bioinformatics Center, Henan Provincial Engineering Center for Tumor Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2022 May 13;13:885075. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.885075. eCollection 2022.
Esophageal cancer (EC) is one of the most common malignancies of digestive tracts with poor five-year survival rate. Hence, it is very significant to further investigate the occurrence and development mechanism of esophageal cancer, find more effective biomarkers and promote early diagnosis and effective treatment. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are generally defined as non-protein-coding RNAs with more than 200 nucleotides in length. Existing researches have shown that lncRNAs could act as sponges, guides, scaffolds, and signal molecules to influence the oncogene or tumor suppressor expressions at transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and protein levels in crucial cellular processes. Currently, the dysregulated lncRNAs are reported to involve in the pathogenesis and progression of EC. Importantly, targeting EC-related lncRNAs through genome editing, RNA interference and molecule drugs may be one of the most potential therapeutic methods for the future EC treatment. In this review, we summarized the biological functions and molecular mechanisms of lncRNAs, including oncogenic lncRNAs and tumor suppressor lncRNAs in EC. In addition, we generalized the excellent potential lncRNA candidates for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy in EC. Finally, we discussed the current challenges and opportunities of lncRNAs for EC.
食管癌（EC）是消化道最常见的恶性肿瘤之一，五年生存率较低。因此，进一步研究食管癌的发生发展机制，寻找更有效的生物标志物，促进早期诊断和有效治疗具有重要意义。长链非编码RNA（lncRNAs）通常被定义为长度超过200个核苷酸的非蛋白质编码RNA。现有研究表明，lncRNAs可作为海绵、向导、支架和信号分子，在关键细胞过程的转录、转录后和蛋白质水平上影响癌基因或肿瘤抑制因子的表达。目前，据报道lncRNAs失调与食管癌的发病机制和进展有关。重要的是，通过基因组编辑、RNA干扰和分子药物靶向与食管癌相关的lncRNAs可能是未来食管癌治疗最具潜力的治疗方法之一。在本综述中，我们总结了lncRNAs的生物学功能和分子机制，包括食管癌中的致癌lncRNAs和肿瘤抑制lncRNAs。此外，我们归纳了用于食管癌诊断、预后和治疗的极具潜力的lncRNA候选物。最后，我们讨论了lncRNAs在食管癌研究方面当前面临的挑战和机遇。
