Su Yongchao, Kuang Feng, Guo Hongwei, Chen Qu, Lai Yiquan, Jing Ran, Huang Lei
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The third people's Hospital of Hainan Province, Sanyan, 572022 Hainan Province China.
Department of Cardiac Surgery, Yuebei people's Hospital of Guandong Province, Shaoguan, 512000 Guandong Province China.
Cytotechnology. 2025 Apr;77(2):68. doi: 10.1007/s10616-025-00711-z. Epub 2025 Feb 24.
Long non-coding RNA HOXC cluster antisense RNA 1 (HOXC-AS1) exhibits elevated expression in gastric and prostate cancers, yet its involvement in esophageal cancer (EC) remains unexplored. This investigation assessed the expression patterns and functional implications of HOXC-AS1 in EC. Quantitative real-time PCR was employed to evaluate HOXC-AS1 expression in EC cell lines, while its impact on cell proliferation, migration, invasion, tumor growth, and metastasis was examined through MTT, EdU, transwell, wound healing assays, and animal models. Mechanistic insights into HOXC-AS1 were pursued using dual-luciferase reporter assays and RNA immunoprecipitation. Analysis of TCGA data demonstrated significant upregulation of HOXC-AS1 in EC tissues, consistent with its enriched expression in EC cell lines. Knockdown experiments revealed that suppressing HOXC-AS1 reduced proliferation, migration, and invasion of EC cells in vitro and inhibited tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Mechanistically, HOXC-AS1 acted as a molecular sponge for miR-195-5p, with anillin actin-binding protein (ANLN) identified as a direct downstream target of miR-195-5p. Functional rescue experiments showed that inhibiting miR-195-5p or overexpressing ANLN counteracted the suppressive effects induced by HOXC-AS1 silencing on the aggressive phenotypes of EC cells. These findings establish HOXC-AS1 as a promoter of EC progression via regulation of the miR-195-5p/ANLN axis, suggesting its utility as a prospective therapeutic target for EC management.
长链非编码RNA HOXC簇反义RNA 1（HOXC-AS1）在胃癌和前列腺癌中表达升高，但其在食管癌（EC）中的作用尚不清楚。本研究评估了HOXC-AS1在食管癌中的表达模式及其功能意义。采用定量实时PCR检测HOXC-AS1在食管癌细胞系中的表达，通过MTT、EdU、Transwell、伤口愈合实验和动物模型检测其对细胞增殖、迁移、侵袭、肿瘤生长和转移的影响。利用双荧光素酶报告基因检测和RNA免疫沉淀技术对HOXC-AS1的作用机制进行了研究。对TCGA数据的分析表明，HOXC-AS1在食管癌组织中显著上调，与其在食管癌细胞系中的高表达一致。敲低实验表明，抑制HOXC-AS1可降低食管癌细胞在体外的增殖、迁移和侵袭能力，并在体内抑制肿瘤生长和转移。机制上，HOXC-AS1作为miR-195-5p的分子海绵，而锚蛋白（ANLN）被确定为miR-195-5p的直接下游靶点。功能挽救实验表明，抑制miR-195-5p或过表达ANLN可抵消HOXC-AS1沉默对食管癌细胞侵袭性表型的抑制作用。这些发现表明HOXC-AS1通过调控miR-195-5p/ANLN轴促进食管癌进展，提示其可作为食管癌治疗的潜在靶点。
