Abstract
It has been established that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a crucial role in various cancer types, and there are vast numbers of long noncoding RNA transcripts that have been identified by high-throughput methods. However, the biological function of many novel aberrantly expressed lncRNAs remains poorly elucidated, especially in gastric cancer (GC). Here, we first identified a novel lncRNA termed LENGA (Low Expression Noncoding RNA in Gastric Adenocarcinoma), which was significantly downregulated in GC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Next, we found that reduced expression of LENGA in GC was also associated with a shorter life expectancy. The proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells were increased after LENGA knockdown but restrained after LENGA overexpression in vitro and in vivo. It was further demonstrated that LENGA physically binds to BRD7 (bromodomain-containing 7) in the bromodomain domain and acts as a scaffold that enhances the interaction between BRD7 and TP53 (tumor protein p53), regulating the expression of a subset of genes in the p53 pathway, including CDKN1A (cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A) and PCDH7 (protocadherin 7), at the transcriptional level. Consistently, the expression of CDKN1A has a positive correlation with LENGA in GC patients. Taken together, this study uncovers a novel tumor suppressor lncRNA, LENGA, and describes its biological function, molecular mechanism, and clinical significance. This highlights the potential importance of targeting the LENGA/BRD7/TP53 axis in GC treatment.
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All data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. High-throughput sequence data of RNA-seq and CUT&Tag was deposited in NCBI, GEO (GSE189471).
Abbreviations
- lncRNA:
-
Long noncoding RNA
- GC:
-
Gastric cancer
- LENGA:
-
Low Expression Noncoding RNA in Gastric Adenocarcinoma
- BRD7:
-
Bromodomain-containing 7
- TP53:
-
Tumor protein p53
- CDKN1A:
-
Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A
- STR:
-
Short tandem repeat
- GSPs:
-
Gene-specific primers
- RIP:
-
RNA immunoprecipitation
- SPF:
-
Specific pathogen-free
- GEO:
-
Gene Expression Omnibus
- TCGA:
-
The Cancer Genome Atlas
- NCBI:
-
National Center for Biotechnology Information
- RACE:
-
Rapid amplification of cDNA ends
- FISH:
-
Fluorescent in situ hybridization
- CCK-8:
-
Cell Counting Kit-8
- 4s1m:
-
4 × Streptavidin-binding RNA aptamer
- MS:
-
Mass spectrometry
- FL:
-
Full-length
- CUT&Tag:
-
Cleavage Under Targets and Tagmentation
- GSEA:
-
Gene set enrichment analysis
- SWI/SNF:
-
Switch/Sucrose Non-Fermentable complex
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Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant nos. 81871984, 81772831, 82072614), Advanced and Appropriate Technology Promotion Project of Shanghai Health Commission (Grant no. 2019SY030), Shanghai Municipal Key Clinical Specialty (Grant No. shslczdzk00102) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine “Two-hundred Talent” team (Grant no. RC20200026). We are grateful to Prof. Ming He for the discussion, and Dr. Li Xia and his team in the core facility of basic medical science (Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine) for excellent support in MS.
Funding
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant nos. 81871984, 81772831, 82072614), Advanced and Appropriate Technology Promotion Project of Shanghai Health Commission (Grant no. 2019SY030), Shanghai Municipal Key Clinical Specialty (Grant no. shslczdzk00102) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine “Two-hundred Talent” team (Grant no. RC20200026).
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Conception and design: LZ, QZ, MZ; methodology: SL, CZ, LH, SZ; acquisition of data (provided animals, acquired, and managed patients): SZ, LH, JM; analysis and interpretation of data (e.g., statistical analysis, biostatistics analysis): XY, YS, HJ, EZ; supervision: MZ, LZ; funding acquisition: LZ, QZ, MZ, JS; writing, review, or revision of the manuscript: SL, QZ, LZ, JS.
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Li, S., Sun, J., Ma, J. et al. LncRNA LENGA acts as a tumor suppressor in gastric cancer through BRD7/TP53 signaling. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 80, 5 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-022-04642-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-022-04642-2