Search

Objectives: Recently, thousands of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) involved in development and metastasis of malignant tumors have been identified. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) breast cancer anti-estrogen resistance 4 (BCAR4) has been proved to promote proliferation and metastasis in multiple tumors. However, the function and significance of BCAR4 in cervical cancer are still unclear., Methods: In this study, we concentrated on the biological function and clinical significance of BCAR4 in cervical cancer. More specifically, BCAR4 expression was evaluated in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines by qRT-PCR. Moreover, the prognostic factors were assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards models. Additionally, functional assays were conducted and the potential mechanism was explored., Results: Our study showed that BCAR4 expression was significantly up-regulated in cervical cancer tissue and cell lines. Moreover, patients with high BCAR4 expression showed worse survival outcomes and overexpression of BCAR4 might be an independent prognostic factor in cervical cancer. Furthermore, overexpression of BCAR4 remarkably promoted the proliferation, motility of cervical cancer cells and silencing BCAR4 significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of cervical cancer cells. Additionally, overexpression of BCAR4 promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process and silencing BCAR4 suppressed EMT process in cervical cancer cells., Conclusions: The results indicated that BCAR4 might play a crucial role in cervical cancer progression and act as an underlying biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of cervical cancer., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Our previous long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) microarray revealed that lncRNA-TCONS_00026907 is aberrantly expressed between cervical cancer tissues and adjacent tissues. This study aims to explore the potential role of TCONS_00026907 in the development of cervical cancer. The expression levels of TCONS_00026907 in cervical cancer tissues and adjacent tissues from 83 patients of cervical cancer were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and the survival rate was analyzed. In vitro, HeLa and SiHa cells were transfected with small hairpin RNA (shRNA)-TCONS_00026907, then cell proliferation, cycle distribution, apoptosis, migration and invasion were measured. To confirm TCONS_00026907 regulates expression of ELK1 through inhibiting miR-143-5p, overexpression of miR-143-5p and silencing of ELK1 were, respectively, performed in HeLa and SiHa cells. Results showed that TCONS_00026907 level was significantly higher in cervical cancer tissues compared to noncancerous tissues and the survival rate was lower in the high expression group. Silencing of TCONS_00026907, overexpression of miR-143-5p and silencing of ELK1 inhibited cervical cell cycle, proliferation, migration, and invasion, but promoted apoptosis, respectively. Furthermore, silencing of TCONS_00026907 suppressed the growth of cervical tumors and altered the expression of ELK1, p-ELK1, C-fos, Cyclin D1 and Bcl-2 in vivo. Our study identifies TCONS_00026907 as a potent proto-oncogene and indicates that TCONS_00026907/miR143-5p/ELK1 regulatory pathway plays an important role in cervical cancer., (© 2017 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a novel class of transcripts that have critical roles in carcinogenesis and progression, have emerged as important gene expression modulators. Recent evidence indicates that lncRNA taurine-upregulated gene 1 (TUG1) functions as an oncogene in numerous types of human cancers. However, its function in the development of cervical cancer remains unknown. The aim of this research was to investigate the clinical significance and biological functions of TUG1 in cervical cancer. TUG1 was found to be significantly upregulated in cervical cancer tissues and four cervical cancer cell lines by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Elevated TUG1 expression was correlated with larger tumor size, advanced international federation of gynecology and obstetrics (FIGO) stage, poor differentiation, and lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, knockdown of TUG1 suppressed cell proliferation with activation of apoptosis, in part by regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and caspase-3. Silencing of TUG1 inhibited cell migration and invasion via the progression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Taken together, our findings indicate that TUG1 acts as an oncogene in cervical cancer and may represent a novel therapeutic target., (© 2016 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Persistent high-risk HPV infection is a major cause of cervical cancer and E6/E7 genes and the Li gene in the HPV genome are key targets to detect high-risk HPV. This study aims to explore the relationship between cervical lesions and E6/7 by establishing a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect multiplex genes based on HPV EE7 genes. It is hoped that such methods will provide a more reliable method for clinical screening and the prevention of cervical cancer., Methods: Based on alignment, specific primers were designed for HPV E6/E7 genes, the sequences of which came from five5 high-risk papillomaviruses that are common in China. This enabled an E6/E7 gene detection method based on multiplex PCR to be established. E6/E7 and Li gene testing were then performed on 65 cervical cancer tissue samples. The gene copy number of HPV E6/E7 genes and the Li gene were detected from different classifications by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR., Results: Out of the 65 cervical cancer tissue samples, 47 (72.31%) showed positive results in E6/E7 multiplex PCR, 21 (32.31%) showed positive results in the Ll gene PCR, and out of the 219 cervical exfoliate cell samples, 56 (25.57%) showed positive results in E6/E7 multiplex PCR, 21 (13.24%) showed positive results in the L1 gene PCR. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) between these two test results. Fluorescent quantitative PCR showed that the ratio of gene copy number of L1 genes and E6/E7 genes was below 1 (p < 0.05) in cervical cancer tissue, in which both the Li and E6/E7 genes coexist., Conclusions: The established HPV multiplex PCR assay based on the design of E6/E7 gene is a specific and sensitive method for the detection and genotype of five high-risk HPVs.