Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 14, 2019; 25(22): 2763-2775
Published online Jun 14, 2019. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i22.2763
Long noncoding RNA HOXA11-AS promotes gastric cancer cell proliferation and invasion via SRSF1 and functions as a biomarker in gastric cancer
Yun Liu, Yu-Mei Zhang, Feng-Bo Ma, Su-Rong Pan, Bao-Zhen Liu
Yun Liu, Department of Operating Room, Binzhou People's Hospital, Binzhou 256610, Shandong Province, China
Yu-Mei Zhang, Department of Return Visit, Binzhou People's Hospital, Binzhou 256610, Shandong Province, China
Feng-Bo Ma, Su-Rong Pan, Bao-Zhen Liu, Department of Gastroenterology, Binzhou People's Hospital, Binzhou 256610, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Liu BZ designed the research; Liu Y, Zhang YM, Ma FB, and Pan SR performed the research; Liu Y analyzed the data; Liu Y and Liu BZ wrote the paper.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board Committee of Binzhou People's Hospital.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We declare no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Bao-Zhen Liu, PhD, Doctor, Department of Gastroenterology, Binzhou People's Hospital, Binzhou 256610, Shandong Province, China. zhebaonnt3411@163.com
Telephone: +86-543-3282396
Received: March 28, 2019
Peer-review started: March 28, 2019
First decision: April 11, 2019
Revised: April 15, 2019
Accepted: May 3, 2019
Article in press: May 3, 2019
Published online: June 14, 2019
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

As one of the most frequent cancers, gastric cancer (GC) caused more than 700000 deaths in just 2012 worldwide. Many recent studies have demonstrated the molecular mechanisms involved in transcriptional regulation in GC, and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an irreplaceable role in the initiation and progression of GC, such as maintaining cell growth, evasion of apoptosis, promotion of invasion and metastasis, stemness maintenance, and EMT.

Research motivation

To identify more biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of GC.

Research objectives

This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of HOXA11-AS in GC.

Research methods

HOXA11-AS expression was detected by qRT-PCR assay in GC tissues, cell lines, and serum samples. Clinicopathological characteristics were collected and expression analysis of HOXA11-AS was performed to evaluate the role of HOXA11-AS. Cell function assays were performed to explore the functions of HOXA11-AS in GC cell lines. Moreover, Western blot was performed to explore the target regulated by HOXA11-AS in GC cell lines.

Research results

We found that HOXA11-AS was upregulated in GC tissues, cell lines, and serum samples, and exhibited a significant negative correlation with tumor size, TNM stage, and lymph node metastasis. Cell experiments showed that HOXA11-AS promoted the proliferation and invasion capacity of GC cell lines, and SRSF1 may be the target regulated by HOXA11-AS in GC cells. Especially, GC patients with a lower HOXA11-AS level had a better overall survival rate.

Research conclusions

Our study demonstrated that HOXA11-AS can significantly promote GC cell growth, migration, and invasion. Furthermore, it can work through SRSF1. Therefore, our study provides the possible molecular mechanism and two new biomarkers for GC.

Research perspectives

In the future, research may reveal the important role of HOXA11-AS that enhances the sensitivity of GC detection and facilitate its application in anti-cancer treatments. The identification of the HOXA11-AS/SRSF1 molecular axis may further explain the underlying mechanism.