LncRNA LEF1-AS1 Acts as a Novel Biomarker and Promotes Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression and Metastasis by Targeting the miR-221-5p/GJA1 Axis. (25th March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fan, Junda; Wang, Cheng; Zhai, Xingyou; Li, Jianhui; Ju, Jun; Zhu, Yuying; Zheng, Shikang; Ren, Nan; Huang, Bangqing; Jiang, Xinying; Xie, Yingli; Zhao, Kai; Liu, Mingbo
• Other Names: Zhuo Zhen-Jian Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: Disease markers. Volume 2022(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-03-25
• Subjects: Diagnosis -- Periodicals; Biochemical markers -- Periodicals; Pathology -- Periodicals; 616
• DOI: 10.1155/2022/3881310
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0278-0240

Abstract

Abstract : Hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC) is highly malignant and extremely aggressive, making it one of the worst prognoses among all kinds of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC); therefore, gaining insight into molecular mechanisms of HSCC is of profound significance. In the current manuscript, we revealed the elevated expression of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) LEF1-AS1 in HNSCC which was associated with the poor prognosis by bioinformatic analysis. Moreover, we noticed that LEF1-AS1 dramatically accelerated the proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process in HSCC cell line FaDu. Most importantly, we illustrated that LEF1-AS1 played as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) via sponging miR-221-5p and thereby positively regulated gap junction protein alpha 1 (GJA1) expression, thus aggravated tumor progression and EMT. In conclusion, for the first time, we demonstrated lncRNA LEF1-AS1 as a novel biomarker for HNSCC and suggested LEF1-AS1/miR-221-5p/GJA1 axis as promising diagnostic and therapeutic target for HSCC treatment.