HOTAIR Induces Methylation of PCDH10, a Tumor Suppressor Gene, by Regulating DNMT1 and Sponging with miR-148b in Gastric Adenocarcinoma

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR), as a long non-coding RNA, has been reported to regulate carcinogenesis by epigenetic mechanism in various cancers. Protocadherin 10 (PCDH10) is one of the well-known tumor suppressor genes, and is frequently methylated in gastric cancers (GC). We aimed to investigate the detailed pathway of how HOTAIR contributes to the target gene in gastric carcinogenesis. @*Materials and Methods@#We investigated the mechanism of HOTAIR on carcinogenesis and metastasis of GC. Methylation-specific PCR was performed to identify the interaction between HOTAIR and PCDH10. In addition, we investigated the interaction between miR-148b and HOTAIR by dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. @*Results@#The expression of HOTAIR was significantly upregulated in GC tissues (p<0.05) and GC cell lines (p<0.01), while PCDH10 was downregulated in GC tissues (p<0.05). The knockdown of HOTAIR (si-HOTAIR1 and 2) significantly upregulated the mRNA/protein expression of PCDH10 and reduced the methylation of PCDH10 compared to the control in MKN 28 and MKN 74. Si-HOTAIR1 and 2 significantly reduced DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) expression, and overexpression of HOTAIR increased DNMT1 expression. In RIP, we found that miR-148b interacted with HOTAIR. Si-HOTAIRs increased miR-148b expression, and miR-148b mimic inversely reduced HOTAIR expression. Si-HOTAIRs and miR-148b mimic reduced DNMT1 expression and increased PCDH10 expression compared to the control. @*Conclusion@#This study demonstrated that HOTAIR interacts with miR-148b and DNMT1, eventually leading to PCDH10 methylation, which contributes to the progression of GC. Our findings provide a better understanding for detailed pathway of HOTAIR in epigenetic mechanism of GC.