Novel LncRNA AK023507 inhibits cell metastasis and proliferation in Papillary Thyroid Cancer through β-catenin/Wnt Signaling Pathway

Abstract

Introduction: Papillary Thyroid Cancer (PTC) represents a commonly encountered type of thyroid malignancy whose occurrence and development is influenced by long non-coding RNA (LncRNA). A novel lncRNA (LncRNA AK023507), known to have tumor suppressive functions, was shown to prevent breast cancer cells from proliferating and metastasizing, but its mechanism in PTC is unclear.

Methods: Using PTC tissues and cell lines, the expression of LncRNA AK023507 was investigated by quantitative Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). The effects of knockdown or overexpression of LncRNA AK023507 on cell growth and movement were investigated through various cell experiments in vitro. The presence of important functional proteins was determined by Western blotting, with the recovery experiment used for verification.

Results: LncRNA AK023507 was found to have low expression in both the PTC cell lines and tissue samples. Knockdown of LncRNA AK023507 in PTC cells significantly promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while overexpression of LncRNA AK023507 resulted in the opposite effects. Furthermore, LncRNA AK023507 could regulate the expression of β-catenin/Wnt signaling pathway as confirmed by recovery experiment.

Conclusion: By acting through the β-catenin/Wnt signaling pathway, LncRNA AK023507 prevented PTC cells from proliferating and metastasizing. These novel findings indicate that LncRNA AK023507 could be of prognostic and diagnostic value as a potential biomarker of PTC.

Keywords: Long non-coding RNA (LncRNA); Metastasis; Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC); Proliferation; Wnt.