lncRNA LCPAT1 Upregulation Promotes Breast Cancer Progression via Enhancing MFAP2 Transcription

The importance of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) in tumorigenesis has been supported by increasing evidence in recent years. However, the mechanism linking lncRNA function with cancer progression remains poorly understood. lncRNA LCPAT1 plays a role in lung cancer. However, how it works in breast cancer (BC) is largely unclear. In this study, we found that LCPAT1 was highly expressed in BC tissues and cell lines. High LCPAT1 expression predicted a low survival rate in BC patients. LCPAT1 promoted BC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion while inhibiting apoptosis in vitro. LCPAT1 knockdown suppressed BC growth in vivo and vice versa. LCPAT1 interacted with RBBP4 and recruited it to the MFAP2 (microfibril-associated protein 2) promoter and then activated MFAP2 transcription. Restoration of MFAP2 rescued the effects of LCPAT1 knockdown in BC cells. In sum, LCPAT1 promotes BC progression through recruiting RBBP4 to initiate MFAP2 transcription.
Graphical Abstract
Gong et al. demonstrate that LCPAT1 was highly expressed in breast cancer tissues and promoted breast cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion while inhibiting apoptosis through recruiting RBBP4 to initiate MFAP2 transcription. Their work illustrates a new mechanism involved in breast cancer progression and suggests that LCPAT1 may be a new therapeutic target.