Cancer Management and Research (Jan 2021)
TMPO-AS1 Regulates the Aggressiveness-Associated Traits of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells Through Sponging miR-320a
Abstract
Biao Xing,1,* Xiao-Feng Qiao,2,* Yan-Hua Qiu,3 Xin Li4,5 1Department of Otolaryngology, Cangzhou Central Hospital, Cangzhou, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Otolaryngology, The First People’s Hospital of Linhai City, Linhai, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital Affiliated to Tsinghua University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 5School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xin LiDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital Affiliated to Tsinghua University, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected]: Previous evidence demonstrates that the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) TMPO antisense RNA 1 (TMPO-AS1) is involved in the aggressiveness of several cancers. Nevertheless, its functions in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are unclear.Methods: qRT-PCR was used to evaluate the levels of TMPO-AS1 and miR-320a in NPC tissues. Furthermore, the growth and invasiveness of NPC cells were evaluated by colony formation and Transwell assays. The protein expression ofSRY-Box Transcription Factor 4 (SOX4) was observed by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Bioinformatic prediction and luciferase reporter assays were used to explore the interaction between miR-320a and TMPO-AS1. The transplanted model was employed to disclose the interference of TMPO-AS1 in the tumor growth of NPC cells in vivo.Results: We found that TMPO-AS1 was distinctly upregulated in NPC. Downregulation of TMPO-AS1 restrained aggressiveness-associated traits in NPC cells. Nevertheless, upregulation of TMPO-AS1 yielded the opposite results. Further studies revealed that lncRNA TMPO-AS1 acts as a “sponge” for miR-320a, resulting in increased levels of SOX4 in NPC cells. Finally, TMPO-AS1 silencing suppressed tumor growth of NPC cells in vivo.Conclusion: Collectively, these results reveal the presence of a novel TMPO-AS1/miR-320a/SOX4 pathway associated with NPC progression, suggesting that lncRNA TMPO-AS1 may be a potential therapeutic target for NPC.Keywords: TMPO-AS1, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, invasion, SOX4
