OncoTargets and Therapy (Sep 2020)
Long Noncoding RNA PART1 Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression via Targeting miR-590-3p/HMGB2 Axis
Abstract
Jian Pu,1,* Chuan Tan,1,* Zesheng Shao,2 Xianjian Wu,2 Ya Zhang,2 Zuoming Xu,1 Jianchu Wang,1 Qianli Tang,1 Huamei Wei3 1Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China; 2Graduate College, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Qianli TangDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, No. 18 Zhongshan Two Road, Baise 533000, Guangxi, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected] WeiDepartment of Pathology, Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, No. 18 Zhongshan Two Road, Baise 533000, Guangxi, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected]: In East Asia, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancer types. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) prostate androgen-regulated transcript 1 (PART1) was reported to play crucial roles in regulating cancer progression. However, roles and mechanisms of action of PART1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) still remain unknown.Methods: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) method was used to detect the PART1 expression level in HCC cells. Cell proliferation, colony formation, and transwell invasion assays were performed to investigate the biological roles of PART1 on HCC cell behaviors. Bioinformatic analysis methods were performed to analyze connections of microRNA-590-3p (miR-590-3p) with PART1 or high mobility group box 2 (HMGB2) in HCC. Moreover, expression levels of PART1, miR-590-3p, and HMGB2 in HCC tissues and normal tissues were analyzed at ENCORI.Results: PART1 expression was found to be significantly upregulated in HCC tissues and cells. Functionally, silencing of PART1 significantly suppressed HCC cell proliferation, colony formation and invasion in vitro, while forcing PART1 exerts opposite biological effects. Mechanically, miR-590-3p/HMGB2 axis was downstream target of PART1, and silencing of miR-590-3p or forcing of HMGB2 could rescue the stimulation effects of PART1 overexpression on HCC cell behaviors.Discussion: Our results provided evidence that PART1 serves as oncogenic lncRNA through sponging miR-590-3p to upregulate HMGB2 expression in HCC.Keywords: PART1, miR-590-3p, HMGB2, ceRNA, hepatocellular carcinoma
