Evodiamine inhibits malignant progression of ovarian cancer cells by regulating lncRNA-NEAT1/miR-152-3p/CDK19 axis.

Evodiamine (EVO) has been demonstrated to promote apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells, and upregulate miR-152-3p level in colorectal cancer. Here, we explore part of the network mechanism of EVO and miR-152-3p in ovarian cancer. The bioinformatics website, dual luciferase reporter assay, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were applied to analyze the network among EVO, lncRNA, miR-152-3p, and mRNA. The effect and mechanism of EVO on ovarian cancer cells were determined using cell counting kit-8, flow cytometry, TUNEL, Western blot, and rescue experiments. As a result, EVO dose-dependently attenuated cell viability, induced G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis, promoted miR-152-3p level (4.5- or 2-fold changes), and inhibited expressions of NEAT1 (0.225- or 0.367-fold changes), CDK8 (0.625- or 0.571-fold changes), and CDK19 (0.25- or 0.147-fold changes) in OVCAR-3 and SKOV-3 cells. In addition, EVO decreased Bcl-2 expression, but increased the expressions of Bax and c-caspase-3. NEAT1 targeted miR-152-3p which bound to CDK19. The impacts of EVO on cell viability, cycle, apoptosis, and apoptosis-related proteins were partially reversed by miR-152-3p inhibitor, NEAT1 overexpression, or CDK19 overexpression. Furthermore, miR-152-3p mimic offset the effects of NEAT1 or CDK19 overexpression. The role of NEAT1 overexpression in the biological phenotype of ovarian cancer cells was counteracted by shCDK19. In conclusion, EVO attenuates ovarian cancer cell progression via the NEAT1-miR-152-3p-CDK19 axis.

RTN2, a new member of circadian clock genes identified by database mining and bioinformatics prediction, is highly expressed in ovarian cancer.

Increasing evidence suggests that core circadian genes have major roles in the carcinogenic mechanisms of multiple human malignancies. Among these genes, the role of reticulon 2 (RTN2) in ovarian cancer (OV) has so far remained elusive. In the present study, circadian clock gene (CCG) aberrations were systematically assessed across malignancies by using Gene Expression Omnibus and The Cancer Genome Atlas data. The results indicated that various core clock genes (ULK1, ATF3, CRY2, CSF3R, DAAM2, GAS7, NPTXR, PPPIR15A and RTN2) had elevated levels in tumors in comparison with normal tissues and their low expression levels were associated with a better prognosis in OV, indicating that they may be potential candidates for novel investigational approaches. The mRNA and protein expression levels of RTN2 in OV were then further analyzed by reverse transcription­quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The results indicated that RTN2 mRNA and protein levels were increased in OV specimens in comparison with control samples. Differentially expressed CCGs, such as RTN2, were suggested as indicators of asynchronous circadian rhythms in cancer, which may provide a theoretical basis for chrono­therapy.