Long non-coding RNA ANRIL promotes tumorgenesis through regulation of FGFR1 expression by sponging miR-125a-3p in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Li-Ming Zhang; Hou-Yu Ju; Yun-Teng Wu; Wei Guo; Lu Mao; Hai-Long Ma; Wei-Ya Xia; Jing-Zhou Hu; Guo-Xin Ren

Long non-coding RNA ANRIL promotes tumorgenesis through regulation of FGFR1 expression by sponging miR-125a-3p in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Am J Cancer Res. 2018 Nov 1;8(11):2296-2310. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Li-Ming Zhang^{1

2}, Hou-Yu Ju^{1

2}, Yun-Teng Wu^{1

2}, Wei Guo^{1

2}, Lu Mao^{1

2}, Hai-Long Ma^{1

2}, Wei-Ya Xia³, Jing-Zhou Hu^{1

2}, Guo-Xin Ren^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Ninth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai, China.
² Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology and Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases Shanghai, China.
³ Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston, Texas.

PMID: 30555745
PMCID: PMC6291644

Abstract

ANRIL (CDKN2B antisense RNA 1, CDKN2B-AS1) is involved in the progression of various cancers. However, its role in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unclear. In this study, we found that ANRIL expression was upregulated in HNSCC and correlated with tumor progression. Further functional analysis showed that knockdown of ANRIL significantly inhibited proliferation in vivo and in vitro. ANRIL functioned as a ceRNA (competing endogenous RNAs) for miR-125a-3p and upregulated FGFR1 (fibroblast growth factor receptor-1), which could promote tumor growth. Moreover, we confirmed that ANRIL promoted HNSCC activity via FGFR1 with a FGFR1 inhibitor in vivo and in vitro. Thus, it could be concluded that ANRIL promoted the progression of HNSCC via miR-125a-3p/FGFR1/MAPK signaling, which might provide a new target for the diagnosis and treatment of HNSCC.

Keywords: ANRIL; FGFR1; Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; miR-125a-3p; proliferation.