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AFAP1-AS1, a long noncoding RNA upregulated in lung cancer and promotes invasion and metastasis

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Tumor Biology

Abstract

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as a major regulator of cancer. Significant fraction of lncRNAs is represented on widely used microarray platforms; however, many of which have no known function. To discover novel lung cancer-related lncRNAs, we analyzed the lncRNA expression patterns in five sets of previously published lung cancer gene expression profile data that were represented on Affymetrix HG-U133 Plus 2.0 array, and identified dysregulated lncRNAs in lung cancer. One lncRNA, actin filament associated protein 1 antisense RNA1 (AFAP1-AS1), was the most significantly upregulated in lung cancer and associated with poor prognosis. In vitro experiments demonstrated that AFAP1-AS1 knockdown significantly inhibited the cell invasive and migration capability in lung cancer cells. AFAP1-AS1 knockdown also increased the expression of its antisense protein coding gene, actin filament associated protein 1 (AFAP1), and affected the expression levels of several small GTPase family members and molecules in the actin cytokeratin signaling pathway, which suggested that AFAP1-AS1 promoted cancer cell metastasis via regulation of actin filament integrity. Our findings extend the number of noncoding RNAs functionally implicated in lung cancer progression and highlight the role of AFAP1-AS1 as potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target of lung cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81172189, 81272298, 81372907, 81301757, 81472531, and 81402009) and the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (14JJ1010 and 2015JJ1022).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hunan Cancer Hospital and The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

    Zhaoyang Zeng, Xiaoling Li, Ming Zhou, Shuping Peng, Guiyuan Li & Wei Xiong

  2. The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis of the Chinese Ministry of Health and The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

    Zhaoyang Zeng, Hao Bo, Zhaojian Gong, Yu Lian, Xiaoling Li, Wenling Zhang, Ming Zhou, Shuping Peng, Guiyuan Li & Wei Xiong

  3. Hunan Key Laboratory of Nonresolving Inflammation and Cancer, Disease Genome Research Center, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

    Zhaoyang Zeng, Xiayu Li, Xiaoling Li, Hao Deng, Ming Zhou, Shuping Peng, Guiyuan Li & Wei Xiong

  4. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

    Zhaojian Gong

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  1. Zhaoyang Zeng
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  2. Hao Bo
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  3. Zhaojian Gong
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  4. Yu Lian
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  5. Xiayu Li
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  7. Wenling Zhang
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  8. Hao Deng
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  9. Ming Zhou
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  10. Shuping Peng
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  11. Guiyuan Li
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  12. Wei Xiong
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Correspondence to Guiyuan Li or Wei Xiong.

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Zeng, Z., Bo, H., Gong, Z. et al. AFAP1-AS1, a long noncoding RNA upregulated in lung cancer and promotes invasion and metastasis. Tumor Biol. 37, 729–737 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-015-3860-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-015-3860-x

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