Expression of long non- coding RNA SNHG3 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and its effect on the migration and invasion of ECA-109 cells / 中国肿瘤临床

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the expression of long non-coding RNA(lncRNA) SNHG3 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and its effect on the migration and invasion of ECA-109 cells. Methods: Samples of tumor and corresponding para-carcinoma tissues were collected from 60 patients with ESCC, who were enrolled in Anyang Tumor Hospital from June 2011 to June 2014. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of lncRNA SNHG3 in ESCC tumor and para-carcinoma tissues, ECA-109 ESCC cells, and HEEC human normal esophageal epithelial cells. The correlation between lncRNA SNHG3 expression and clinical characteristics of patients with ESCC was assessed. ECA-109 cells were transfected with siRNA-SNHG3 plasmids to knockdown lncRNA SNHG3 expression. The correlation between lncRNA SNHG3 expression and patient prognosis was determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Transwell assay was used to investigate the migration and invasion abilities of ECA-109 cells. SNAIL and TWIST mRNA and protein levels in ECA-109 cells were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot assay, respectively. Results: The expression level of lncRNA SNHG3 was significantly higher in ESCC tumor tissues compared to that in pericarcinomatous tissues and in ECA-109 cells compared to that in HEEC cells (both P<0.05). LncRNA SNHG3 expression in ESCC cells was significantly correlated with tumor differentiation, TNM stage, and lymph node metastasis (P< 0.05). LncRNA SNHG3 expression in ECA-109 cells decreased significantly upon transfection with the siRNA-SNHG3 plasmid (P<0.05). High expression of lncRNA SNHG3 was significantly correlated with poor prognosis in patients with ESCC. After lncRNA SNHG3 knockdown, the migration and invasion of ECA-109 cells and the mRNA and protein expression levels of SNAIL and TWIST were reduced significantly (P<0.05). Conclusions: LncRNA SNHG3 is highly expressed in ESCC tumor tissues and cells and promotes the migration and invasion of ECA-109 cells by regulating the expression of SNAIL and TWIST proteins.