STAT3-induced ZBED3-AS1 promotes the malignant phenotypes of melanoma cells by activating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. (15th October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wang, Yang; Lou, Nan; Zuo, Min; Zhu, Fuqiang; He, Yan; Cheng, Zhiqiang; Wang, Xiaomei
• Is Part Of: RNA biology. Volume 18(2021)Supplement 1
• Page Start: 355
• Page End: 368
• Publication Date: 2021-10-15
• Subjects: Melanoma -- ZBED3-AS1 -- ARID4B -- PI3K/AKT -- miR-381-3p; RNA -- Periodicals; Molecular biology -- Periodicals; Molecular biology; RNA; Periodicals; 572.8805
• DOI: 10.1080/15476286.2021.1950463
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1547-6286

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Melanoma is considered as the most frequent primary malignancy occurring in skin. Accumulating studies have suggested that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play critical parts in multiple cancers. In this study, we explored the molecular mechanism of ZBED3 antisense RNA 1 (ZBED3-AS1) in melanoma. We observed that ZBED3-AS1 expression was remarkably up-regulated in melanoma tissues, and high ZBED3-AS1 level was linked to unsatisfactory survival of melanoma patients. Then, we discovered that ZBED3-AS1 was overexpressed in melanoma cells compared with human epidermal melanocytes. In addition, loss-of-function assays verified that ZBED3-AS1 knockdown restrained cell proliferation, migration, epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), and stemness in melanoma. In addition, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), which also showed tumour-facilitating functions in melanoma, was confirmed as a transcriptional activator of ZBED3-AS1. Moreover, ZBED3-AS1 enhanced the expression of AT-rich interaction domain 4B (ARID4B) through sequestering miR-381-3p. Importantly, we further confirmed that ZBED3-AS1 promoted the malignant progression of melanoma by regulating miR-381-3p/ARID4B axis to activate the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT serine/threonine kinase (PI3K/AKT) signalling pathway. In a word, our research might provide a novel therapeutic target for melanoma.