Cancer Management and Research (Feb 2021)
GATA1-Activated HNF1A-AS1 Facilitates the Progression of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer via Sponging miR-32-5p to Upregulate RNF38
Abstract
Jingyu Yang, Heng Niu, Xin Chen Department of Breast Thyroid Surgery, The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, 650032, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jingyu YangDepartment of Breast Thyroid Surgery, The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, No. 157 Jinbi Road, Kunming, 650032, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected]: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly invasive subtype of breast cancer with a high mortality rate. Recently, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are confirmed to modulate the progression of assorted cancers, including TNBC. However, the functions of lncRNA HNF1 homeobox A antisense RNA 1 (HNF1A-AS1) in TNBC are still unclear.Aim: We aimed to investigate the function and mechanism of HNF1A-AS1 in TNBC.Methods: The expression of genes in TNBC cells was tested by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot. In vitro loss-of-function assays and in vivo xenograft experiments were conducted for evaluating the impact of HNF1A-AS1 on TNBC progression. RNA pull-down, luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays were utilized for assessing the correlations between molecules.Results: We discovered that HNF1A-AS1 was highly expressed in TNBC tissues and cells. Knockdown of HNF1A-AS1 restrained cell proliferation but accelerated cell apoptosis. Besides, GATA-binding protein 1 (GATA1) activated HNF1A-AS1 transcription in TNBC. MicroRNA-32-5p (miR-32-5p) was slowly expressed in TNBC cells and sponged by HNF1A-AS1, and its overexpression hinders TNBC cell growth. Ring finger protein 38 (RNF38) was verified as the target of miR-32-5p, and HNF1A-AS1 was a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) of RNF38 through sponging miR-32-5p. Rescue experiments indicated that upregulation of RNF38 reversed the inhibited impacts of silencing HNF1A-AS1 on TNBC cell growth.Conclusion: GATA1-activated HNF1A-AS1 facilitated TNBC progression via miR-32-5p/RNF38 axis. The findings may provide new roads for developing targeted therapies of TNBC.Keywords: HNF1A-AS1, miR-32-5p, RNF38, triple-negative breast cancer
