Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified to be critical mediators in various tumors associated with cancer progression. Long non-coding RNA activated by TGF-β (lncRNA-ATB) is a stimulator of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and serves as a novel prognostic biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the biological role and clinical significance of lncRNA-ATB in human prostate cancer have yet to be fully elucidated. The present study was designed to explore the expression of lncRNA-ATB in human prostate cancer patients and the role of lncRNA-ATB in prostate cancer cells. We showed that lncRNA-ATB expression was significantly upregulated in tumor tissues in patients with prostate cancer in comparison with adjacent non-tumor tissues. Further analysis indicted that high lncRNA-ATB expression may be an independent prognostic factor for biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survival in prostate cancer patients. Overexpression of lncRNA-ATB promoted, and knockdown of lncRNA-ATB inhibited the growth of prostate cancer cells via regulations of cell cycle regulatory protein expression levels. In addition, lncRNA-ATB stimulated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) associated with ZEB1 and ZNF217 expression levels via ERK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. These results indicated that lncRNA-ATB may be considered as a new predictor in the clinical prognosis of patients with prostate cancer. Overexpression of lncRNA-ATB exerts mitogenic and EMT effects of prostate cancer via activation of ERK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways.
Oncology reports. 2016 May 09 [Epub ahead of print]
Song Xu, Xiao-Ming Yi, Chao-Peng Tang, Jing-Ping Ge, Zheng-Yu Zhang, Wen-Quan Zhou
Department of Urology, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210002, P.R. China., Department of Urology, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210002, P.R. China., Department of Urology, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210002, P.R. China., Department of Urology, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210002, P.R. China., Department of Urology, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210002, P.R. China., Department of Urology, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210002, P.R. China.