ABSTRACT
Colon cancer is a common malignant tumor in the world, however, its pathogenesis still needs further research. FEZF1- AS1 is highly expressed in colon cancer and other malignant tumors, and is associated with clinicopathological features and prognosis of colon cancer patients. In addition, FEZF1- AS1 promotes the proliferation, invasion and migration of colon cancer cells, regulates the cell cycle and inhibits apoptosis through various mechanisms, suggesting that FEZF1- AS1 may be a new important molecular biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for colon cancer. This article reviews the advances in the study of function and mechanism of FEZF1- AS1 in colon cancer.
ABSTRACT
Nowadays, accumulating evidence indicates that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) play vital roles in tumorigenesis. As a newly discovered lncRNA, FEZ family zinc finger 1-antisense RNA 1 (FEZF1-AS1) is markedly upregulated in various malignant tumors including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Aberrant expression of FEZF1-AS1 is related to clinical characteristics of patients with NSCLC and suggests poor prognosis. Moreover, FEZF1-AS1 can regulate numerous biological processes, such as cell proliferation, migration and invasion through different mechanisms. In this article, we systematically summarize the recent research progress of FEZF1-AS1 in NSCLC, which might be a novel target for clinical therapy.
ABSTRACT
Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common malignant tumors in China, which seriously threatens the life of patients. Nowadays, more and more studies have confirmed the role of long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) in the development and progression of cancer. Aims: To investigate the molecular mechanism of FEZF1-AS1 regulates the biological behavior of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by targeting miR-1254. Methods: qRT-PCR was used to detect the expressions of FEZF1-AS1 and miR-1254 in hepatocellular carcinoma tissue and cells. Hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B cells were randomly divided into NC group, si-Lnc FEZF1-AS1 group, si-con group, miR-1254 group, miR-con group, si-Lnc FEZF1-AS1+anti-miR-con group, si-Lnc FEZF1-AS1+anti-miR-1254 group. The cell viability was detected by MTT assay, apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry, the cell migration and invasion ability were detected by Transwell assay, the dual luciferase reporter gene assay was used to verify the targeted regulatory relationship between FEZF1-AS1 and miR-1254, Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of related proteins. Results: The expression of FEZF1-AS1 was significantly increased whereas the expression of miR-1254 was significantly decreased in hepatocellular carcinoma tissue and cells than those in corresponding adjacent tissue and normal cells. Transfection of si-Lnc FEZF1-AS1 or miR-1254 mimics significantly inhibited the expressions of Ki-67, N-cadherin and Vimentin in Hep3B cells, promoted the expressions of cleaved caspase-3 and E-cadherin, inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion ability, inhibited the occurrence of EMT and promoted cell apoptosis. FEZF1-AS1 negatively regulated miR-1254 expression. Transfection of si-Lnc FEZF1-AS1 inhibited activation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Transfection of anti-miR-1254 reversed the effect of si-Lnc FEZF1-AS1 transfection on Hep3B cell proliferation, migration, invasion, EMT, apoptosis and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Conclusions: The expression of LncRNA FEZF1-AS1 is up-regulated in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Silencing LncRNA FEZF1-AS1 inhibits proliferation, migration, invasion, EMT, promotes apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by targeting miR-1254, and its mechanism is correlated to inhibition of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway activation.
ABSTRACT
Objective@#To investigate the effect of long-chain non-coding RNA Fez family zinc finger protein 1 antisense RNA1 (lncRNA FEZF1-AS1) on the biological function of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).@*Methods@#SMMC771 and BEL-7402 cells were transfected with sh-FEZF1-AS1 and OE-FEZF1-AS1, respectively. The expression of lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 was detected by real-time quantitative PCR. Cell proliferation was detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), and apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. The effects of lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 on invasion and migration were detected by Transwell and wound healing assays. The expression levels of adhesion molecules were detected by Western blot. The effect of lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 on the in vivo growth was verified by nude mice xenograft experiments.@*Results@#The silencing or ectopic expression of lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 inhibited or promoted the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. CCK-8 assay showed that the proliferation abilities of SMMC7721 and BEL-7402 cells in sh-FEZF1-AS1 transfection group significantly decreased, achieving (35.43±4.06)% and (34.68±3.97)%, respectively, on the fifth day. There were significant differences between sh-FEZF1-AS1 group and sh-NC group [52.21±8.46)% and (53.76±7.64)%] (all P<0.05). In contrast, the proliferation ability of SMMC7721 and BEL-7402 cells transfected with OE-FEZF1-AS1 was significantly increased, achieving (83.49±6.92)% and (80.31±3.13)%, respectively, on the fifth day. There were significant differences between OE-FEZF1-AS1 and OE-NC group [53.03±8.84)% and (55.11±7.09)%] (all P<0.05). The subsequent flow cytometry results showed that cell apoptotic rates of SMMC7721 and BEL-7402 cells transfected with sh-FEZF1-AS1 were (13.02±1.38)% and (11.88±1.29)%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in sh-NC groups [(5.57±1.46)% and (8.06±1.42)%, respectively, all P<0.05]. In contrast, the apoptotic rates of SMMC7721 and BEL-7402 cells transfected with OE-FEZF1-AS1 were (3.01±0.39)% and (3.22±0.43)%, which were significantly lower than those in OE-NC groups [(6.68±0.96)% and (6.63±0.45)%, all P<0.05]. In addition, knockdown or overexpression of lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 expression inhibited or enhanced the migration and invasion abilities as well as the levels of adhesion molecules in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. After 30 days of feeding under the same conditions, the tumor volumes of sh-FEZF1-AS1 and sh-NC SMMC7721 cells xenograft mice models were (0.26±0.03) cm3 and (0.63±0.06) cm3, respectively, showing significant difference (P<0.05). The tumor volumes of sh-FEZF1-AS1 and sh-NC BEL-7402 cells were (0.31±0.02) cm3 and (0.72±0.08) cm3, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 may strengthen the growth, migration and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.