HOXA11-AS: a novel regulator in human cancer proliferation and metastasis

Abstract

Jiang-yang Xue,1 Chao Huang,2 Wei Wang,1 Hai-bo Li,1 Ming Sun,3 Min Xie2 1Center for Reproduction and Genetics, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China; 2Central Laboratory, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China; 3Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA Abstract: Multiple studies have demonstrated that lncRNAs extensively participate in human cancer proliferation and metastasis. Epigenetic modification, transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms are involved in lncRNA-led tumorigenesis and transfer. Recently, a novel identified homeobox (HOX) A11 antisense lncRNA, HOXA11-AS, 1,628 bp in length, has been excessively highlighted to be an essential initiator and facilitator in the process of malignant tumor proliferation and metastasis. As found in many reports, HOXA11-AS can not only act as a molecular scaffold of PRC2, LSD1 and DNMT1 to epigenetically modify chromosomes in the nucleus but also occur as ceRNA competitively sponging miRNAs in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, HOXA11-AS may function as a potential biomarker for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. In this review, we summarize the evolvement and mechanisms of HOXA11-AS in proliferation and metastasis of various human cancers. Keywords: HOXA11-AS, proliferation, metastasis, EMT, ceRNA, lncRNA, molecular scaffold

Keywords

• HOXA11-AS
• proliferation
• metastasis
• EMT
• ceRNA