An increase in a long noncoding RNA ANRIL in peripheral plasma is an indicator of stable angina

Abstract Introduction: Stable angina develops during physical activity or stress, and it is typically an aspect of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) that can lead to arrhythmia, heart failure and even sudden death. ANRIL, an Antisense Non-coding RNA gene in the INK4 Locus, is associated with multiple disorders including CHD; however, expressional levels of ANRIL in between patients with stable angina and myocardial infarction, one of the acute coronary syndrome, have not been clarified yet. Methods: The authors enrolled 62 patients with myocardial infarction and 59 with stable angina before primary percutaneous coronary intervention, as well as 48 healthy volunteers. Their peripheral blood was collected for analysis of ANRIL and cardiac troponin I, a traditional diagnostic index of CHD by real-time PCR. Results: The data showed that ANRIL is a better diagnostic indicator than cardiac troponin I in patients with stable angina and that the levels of ANRIL are higher in patients with stable angina than those with the myocardial infarction. Discussion: The levels of ANRIL in peripheral plasma could be used as a good biomarker for stable angina.

Long non-coding RNAs: From disease code to drug role

Enormous studies have corroborated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) extensively participate in crucial physiological processes such as metabolism and immunity, and are closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors, cardiovascular diseases, nervous system disorders, nephropathy, and other diseases. The application of lncRNAs as biomarkers or intervention targets can provide new insights into the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. This paper has focused on the emerging research into lncRNAs as pharmacological targets and has reviewed the transition of lncRNAs from the role of disease coding to acting as drug candidates, including the current status and progress in preclinical research. Cutting-edge strategies for lncRNA modulation have been summarized, including the sources of lncRNA-related drugs, such as genetic technology and small-molecule compounds, and related delivery methods. The current progress of clinical trials of lncRNA-targeting drugs is also discussed. This information will form a latest updated reference for research and development of lncRNA-based drugs.

Expression and clinical significance of long non-coding RNA antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus and microRNA-125a in plasma of children with bronchial asthma / 第二军医大学学报

Objective To evaluate the correlation of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL) with disease risk and severity of bronchial asthma as well as plasma microRNA (miRNA)-125a expression in child patients. Methods Seventy children with asthma exacerbation, 70 children with asthma remission and 70 matched healthy controls were consecutively enrolled in this study. Laboratory parameters and lung function indexes of the participants were recorded. LncRNA ANRIL and miRNA-125a expression levels in plasma were determined using qRT-PCR. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and IL-17 levels in plasma were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results LncRNA ANRIL expression was the highest in the asthma exacerbation children, followed by asthma remission children and healthy controls. There were significant differences in the expression of lncRNA ANRIL among the three groups (all P<0.01). Receiver operating characteristic curves revealed that lncRNA ANRIL could well differentiate the participants in the three groups. In the children with asthma exacerbation, lncRNA ANRIL expression was associated with disease severity (P=0.001), positively associated with the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-17 (all P<0.05), while negatively associated with forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1 as percentage of predicted (FEV1%Pred) value (both P<0.05). LncRNA ANRIL expression was also positively associated with the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-17 in the asthma remission children and IL-6 level in healthy controls (all P<0.05). LncRNA ANRIL expression was negatively associated with miRNA-125a expression in all the participants (all P<0.05). Besides, miRNA-125a expression was positively correlated with FEV1/FVC and FEV1%Pred value in the children with asthma exacerbetion (both P<0.001). Conclusion LncRNA ANRIL may serve as a novel biomarker for predicting asthma, asthma acute exacerbation and severity, and inflammation level. It may participate in the development and progression of asthma in children via targeting miRNA-125a..

Silencing of circular RNA ANRIL attenuates oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation-induced injury in human brain microvascular endothelial cells by sponging miR-622

BACKGROUND: Circular RNA (circRNA) is highly expressed in the brain tissue, but its molecular mechanism in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion remains unclear. Here, we explored the role and underlying mechanisms of circRNA antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus (circ_ANRIL) in oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R)-induced cell injury. RESULTS: The expression of circ_ANRIL in OGD/R-induced human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) was significantly up-regulated, while that of miR-622 was significantly down-regulated. Overexpression of circ_ANRIL significantly inhibited the proliferation of OGD/R-induced HBMECs and aggravated OGD/R-induced cell apoptosis. Moreover, circ_ANRIL overexpression further increased the secretion of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-a, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 in OGD/R-treated HBMECs. The results of bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay indicated that circ_ANRIL served as an miR-622 sponge to negatively regulate the expression of miR-622 in OGD/R-treated HBMECs. Additionally, circ_ANRIL silencing exerted anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects by positively regulating the expression of miR-622. Furthermore, inhibition of OGD/R-induced activation of the nuclear factor (NF)-kB pathway by circ_ANRIL silencing was significantly reversed by treatment with miR-622 inhibitor. CONCLUSIONS: Knockdown of circ_ANRIL improved OGD/R-induced cell damage, apoptosis, and inflammatory responses by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway through sponging miR-622.

Diagnostic value of circulating lncRNA ANRIL and its correlation with coronary artery disease parameters

This study aimed to detect the expression of the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL) and evaluate its correlation with disease risk, stenosis degree, inflammation, as well as overall survival (OS) in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. A total of 230 patients who underwent diagnostic coronary angiography were consecutively recruited and assigned to CAD group (n=125) or control group (n=105) according to presence or absence of CAD. Gensini score was calculated to assess the severity of coronary artery damage. Plasma samples were collected and the expression ANRIL was detected in all participants. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and IL-17 in CAD patients were measured and OS was calculated. The relative expression of ANRIL was higher in CAD patients compared to controls (P<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic disclosed that ANRIL could distinguish CAD patients from controls with an area under the curve of 0.789 (95%CI: 0.731-0.847). Spearman's rank correlation test revealed that expression of ANRIL was positively correlated with Gensini score (P=0.001), levels of hs-CRP (P=0.001), ESR (P=0.038), TNF-α (P=0.004), and IL-6 (P<0.001), while negatively correlated with IL-10 level (P=0.008) in CAD patients. Kaplan-Meier curve revealed that high expression of ANRIL was associated with shorter OS (P=0.013). In conclusion, circulating ANRIL presented a good diagnostic value for CAD, and its high expression was associated with increased stenosis degree, raised inflammation, and poor OS in CAD patients.

LncRNA ANRIL target miR-195 experimental study of radiation sensitivity of HCT116 cells and nude mouse transplant tumors / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective@#To investigate the effect and mechanism of LncRNA ANRIL on the radiosensitivity of HCT116 cells line and nude mouse transplant tumors.@*Methods@#The expression of LncRNA ANRIL in colorectal cancer cells was detected by qPCR. The negative control siRNA, ANRIL siRNA, miR-NC mimic, miR-195 mimic, miR-NC inhibitor and miR-195 inhibitor were transfected into HCT116 cells, and marked as negative control group, silencing ANRIL group, overexpressing miR-NC group, overexpressing miR-195 group, inhibiting miR-NC group and inhibiting miR-195 group, and the HCT116 cells without any treatment were marked as the blank control group. The clone formation assay was used to detect radiosensitivity of colorectal cancer cells, flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis. The web site, StarBase, was used to predict the downstream miRNAs of ANRIL and dual luciferase reporter gene assay was used to further verify. Subcutaneous tumor transplantation assay was used to detect the effect of ANRIL on the growth of colorectal cancer cells after irradiation.@*Results@#After irradiation with 2, 4, 6 and 8 Gy, the cell survival fraction of silencing ANRIL group was significantly decreased when compared with that of negative control group (P<0.05), and the radiosensitivity ratio was 1.52. The apoptosis rate of the silencing ANRIL+ 4 Gy group was significantly higher than that of the negative control+ 4 Gy group ((27.86±2.78)% vs. (12.06±1.46)%, P<0.05). The results of the experiment on nude mouse transplant tumors showed that the tumor volume in the negative control group was lower than that of the silent ANRIL group on days 13, 16, 19, 22 and 25 ((234±66) mm3, (273±63) mm3, (296±72) mm3, (321±85) mm3 and (403±94) mm3 vs. (357±79) mm3, (485±124) mm3, (617±143) mm3, (764±174) mm3 and (985±221) mm3P<0.05). MiR-195 is a target gene of ANRIL, and inhibition of miR-195 can reverse the inhibitory effect of silencing ANRIL on radiosensitivity, apoptosis and xenografts of HCT116 cells.@*Conclusions@#LncRNA ANRIL regulates the radiosensitivity of colorectal cancer cells by miR-195, which may provide a new sensitizing target for clinical colorectal cancer radiotherapy.

Knockdown of long non-coding RNA ANRIL inhibits tumorigenesis in human gastric cancer cells via microRNA-99a-mediated down-regulation of BMI1

Long non-coding RNA antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL) has been reported to promote tumorigenesis via regulating microRNA (miR)-99a in gastric cancer cells. However, the role of each component involved in it is still not well understood. This study aimed to verify the role of ANRIL in gastric cancer as well as the underlying mechanisms. ANRIL levels in clinical gastric cancer tissues and cell lines were tested by qPCR. Effects of ANRIL silence on cell viability, migration and invasion, apoptosis, and miR-99a expression in MKN-45 and SGC-7901 cells were measured using CCK-8, Transwell assay, flow cytometry, and qPCR assays, respectively. Then, effects of miR-99a inhibition on ANRIL-silenced cells were evaluated. B-lymphoma Mo-MLV insertion region 1 (BMI1) expression, after abnormal expression of ANRIL and miR-99a, was determined. Finally, expression of key proteins in the apoptotic, Notch, and mTOR pathways was assessed. ANRIL level was elevated in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of ANRIL suppressed cell viability, migration, and invasion, and increased apoptosis through up-regulating miR-99a. Furthermore, ANRIL silence down-regulated BMI1 via up-regulating miR-99a. BMI1 silence down-regulated Bcl-2 and key kinases in the Notch and mTOR pathways and up-regulated p16 and cleaved caspases. We verified the tumor suppressive effects of ANRIL knockdown in gastric cancer cells via crosstalk with miR-99a. Together, we provided a novel regulatory mechanism for ANRIL in gastric cancer, in which ANRIL silence down-regulated BMI1 via miR-99a, along with activation of the apoptotic pathway and inhibition of the Notch and mTOR pathways.

Long Non-coding RNA ANRIL in Gene Regulation and Its Duality in Atherosclerosis / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

The antisense transcript long non-coding RNA (1ncRNA) (antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus,ANRIL) is an antisense of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2B (CDKN2B) gene on chromosome 9p21 that contains an overlapping 299-bp region and shares a bidirectional promoter with alternate open reading frame (ARF).In the context of gene regulation,ANRIL is responsible for directly recruiting polycomb group (PcG) proteins,including polycomb repressive complex-1 (PRC-1) and polycomb repressive complex-2 (PRC-2),to modify the epigenetic chrornatin state and subsequently inhibit gene expression in cis-regulation.On the other hand,previous reports have indicated that ANRIL is capable of binding to a specific site or sequence,including the Alu element,E2F transcription factor 1 (E2F1),and CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF),to achieve trans-regulation functions.In addition to its function in cell proliferation,adhesion and apoptosis,ANRIL is very closely associated with atherosclerosis-related diseases.The different transcripts and the SNPs that are related to atherosclerotic vascular diseases (ASVD-SNPs) are inextricably linked to the development and progression of atherosclerosis.Linear transcripts have been shown to be a risk factor for atherosclerosis,whereas circular transcripts are protective against atherosclerosis.Furthermore,ANRIL also acts as a component of the inflammatory pathway involved in the regulation of inflammation,which is considered to be one of the causes of atherosclerosis.Collectively,ANRIL plays an important role in the formation of atherosclerosis,and the artificial modification of ANRIL transcripts should be considered following the development of this disease.

Research progress in the long non-coding RNA ANRIL / 基础医学与临床

Long non-coding RNAs are important regulators of gene expression.ANRIL which was coded on the Chr9p21.3 loci participates in the pathogenesis of tumor, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and oth-er diseases.Multiple ANRIL isoforms are tissue-specific.ANRIL mainly functions through Polycomb proteins, while there are also other downstream targets.The mechanism of each isoform and the downstream pathways are hotspots incurrent researches.