LY6K-AS lncRNA is a lung adenocarcinoma prognostic biomarker and regulator of mitotic progression

Oncogene. 2021 Apr;40(13):2463-2478. doi: 10.1038/s41388-021-01696-7. Epub 2021 Mar 5.

Abstract

Recent advances in genomics unraveled several actionable mutational drivers in lung cancer, leading to promising therapies such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors. However, the tumors' acquired resistance to the newly-developed as well as existing therapies restricts life quality improvements. Therefore, we investigated the noncoding portion of the human transcriptome in search of alternative actionable targets. We identified an antisense transcript, LY6K-AS, with elevated expression in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients, and its higher expression in LUAD patients predicts poor survival outcomes. LY6K-AS abrogation interfered with the mitotic progression of lung cancer cells resulting in unfaithful chromosomal segregation. LY6K-AS interacts with and stabilizes 14-3-3 proteins to regulate the transcription of kinetochore and mitotic checkpoint proteins. We also show that LY6K-AS regulates the levels of histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) at the promoters of kinetochore members. Cisplatin treatment and LY6K-AS silencing affect many common pathways enriched in cell cycle-related functions. LY6K-AS silencing affects the growth of xenografts derived from wildtype and cisplatin-resistant lung cancer cells. Collectively, these data indicate that LY6K-AS silencing is a promising therapeutic option for LUAD that inhibits oncogenic mitotic progression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • 14-3-3 Proteins / genetics*
  • Adenocarcinoma of Lung / drug therapy
  • Adenocarcinoma of Lung / genetics*
  • Adenocarcinoma of Lung / pathology
  • Animals
  • Antigens, Ly / genetics*
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
  • Carcinogenesis / drug effects
  • Cell Proliferation / genetics
  • Cisplatin / pharmacology
  • Female
  • GPI-Linked Proteins / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / drug effects
  • Heterografts
  • Histones / genetics
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mitosis / genetics
  • Prognosis
  • RNA, Long Noncoding / genetics*
  • Transcriptome / genetics

Substances

  • 14-3-3 Proteins
  • Antigens, Ly
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • GPI-Linked Proteins
  • Histones
  • LY6K protein, human
  • RNA, Long Noncoding
  • histone H3 trimethyl Lys4
  • Cisplatin