LncRNA NCK1-AS1 in plasma distinguishes oral ulcer from early-stage oral squamous cell carcinoma

Fei Le; Yangqian Ou; Ping Luo; Xiaoming Zhong

doi:10.1186/s40709-020-00126-1

LncRNA NCK1-AS1 in plasma distinguishes oral ulcer from early-stage oral squamous cell carcinoma

J Biol Res (Thessalon). 2020 Nov 11:27:16. doi: 10.1186/s40709-020-00126-1. eCollection 2020 Dec.

Authors

Fei Le^#¹, Yangqian Ou^#², Ping Luo³, Xiaoming Zhong⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Jiangxi Province Tumor Hospital, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province 330029 People's Republic of China.
² Department of Intensive Medicine, Jiangxi Province Tumor Hospital, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province 330029 People's Republic of China.
³ Department of Surgical Oncology, Nanchang Third Hospital, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province 330002 People's Republic of China.
⁴ Department of Radiotherapy, Jiangxi Province Tumor Hospital, No.519 Beijing East Road, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province 330029 People's Republic of China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) at early stages can be misdiagnosed as an oral ulcer (OU) due to similar symptoms, such as chronic and indurated ulcer. LncRNA NCK1-AS1 has been characterized as a key player in cervical cancer, while its role in OSCC is unknown.

Methods: All participants were selected at Jiangxi Province Tumor Hospital from December 2016 to December 2018. Expression levels of NCK1-AS1 and miR-100 in plasma from both OSCC and OU patients were measured by RT-qPCR. Diagnostic analysis was performed through ROC curve. Potential interactions between NCK1-AS1 and miR-100 were detected by cell transfection experiments. Cell invasion and migration were assessed by Transwell assays.

Results: The expression of NCK1-AS1 was upregulated in early-stage OSCC patients but not in OU patients. Upregulation of NCK1-AS1 distinguished OSCC patients from OU patients. The expression of miR-100 was inversely correlated with the expression of NCK1-AS1. Overexpression of NCK1-AS1 was followed by promoted OSCC cell invasion and migration. Overexpression of miR-100 did not affect the expression of NCK1-AS1 but inhibited the role of NCK1-AS1.

Conclusions: Therefore, NCK1-AS1 may promote the metastasis of OSCC by downregulating miR-100.

Keywords: Oral squamous cell carcinoma; Oral ulcer; lncRNA NCK1-AS1; miR-100.