• Zhonghua Ma, Peng Peng, Jing Zhou, Bingqing Hui, Hao Ji, Juan Wang, and Keming Wang.
• The Second Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
• Cell. Physiol. Biochem. 2018 Jan 1; 46 (6): 2197-2214.

Background/AimsColorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed malignancies worldwide. Current evidence has revealed the key roles of long non-coding RNAs (IncRNAs) in multiple cancers, including CRC. In this study we identified the lncRNA SH3PXD2A-AS1 as a novel molecule associated with CRC progression by analyzing the publicly available data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets.MethodsQuantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays were performed to examine the expression levels of SH3PXD2A-AS1 in CRC tissue samples and CRC cell lines. Cell viability examination, colony-formation experiments, ethynyl deoxyuridine (Edu) assays and flow cytometry were performed to investigate the roles of SH3PXD2A-AS1 in CRC proliferation, cell cycle regulation, and apoptosis. Transwell assays were used to explore the effects of SH3PXD2A-AS1 on CRC cells migration and invasion. A nude mice model was used to assess the effects of SH3PXD2A-AS1 on tumorigenesis in vivo. Subcellular fractionation, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays were conducted to detect the molecular mechanisms of SH3PXD2A-ASl-mediated gene expression. Rescue assays were used to determine whether P57 and Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) were involved in SH3PXD2A-ASl-dependent CRC proliferation.ResultsWe firstly found that SH3PXD2A-AS1 was significantly upregulated in CRC tissues and cell lines, and overexpression of SH3PXD2A-AS1 was correlated with tumor size, TNM stage, and lymph node metastasis in patients with CRC. Furthermore, SH3PXD2A-AS1 knockdown inhibited CRC cells proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro, and suppressed tumorigenesis in vivo. Mechanistic studies indicated that SH3PXD2A-AS1 could epiqenetically repress P57 and KLF2 expression through interaction with EZH2. Rescue experiments suggested that SH3PXD2A-ASl-mediated oncogenesis was impaired by overexpression of P57 or KLF2. Interestingly, the expression of SH3PXD2A-AS1 was inversely correlated with the expression of P57 and KLF2 in CRC tissue samples.ConclusionOur research presents the first evidence that SH3PXD2A-AS1 acts as an oncogene in CRC, and may be a promising diagnostic or therapeutic target in patients with CRC.© 2018 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

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