Upregulation of long noncoding RNA TUG1 promotes cervical cancer cell proliferation and migration

作者：Yingying Hu, Xiangwei Sun, Chenchen Mao, Gangqiang Guo, Sisi Ye, Jianfeng Xu, Ruanmin Zou, Jun Chen, Ledan Wang, Ping Duan, Xiangyang Xue · 发表于：Cancer Medicine · 年份：2017 · DOI：10.1002/cam4.994 · 被引用次数：101 · 研究领域：Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research、RNA modifications and cancer、RNA Research and Splicing

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a novel class of transcripts that have critical roles in carcinogenesis and progression, have emerged as important gene expression modulators. Recent evidence indicates that lncRNA taurine-upregulated gene 1 (TUG1) functions as an oncogene in numerous types of human cancers. However, its function in the development of cervical cancer remains unknown. The aim of this research was to investigate the clinical significance and biological functions of TUG1 in cervical cancer. TUG1 was found to be significantly upregulated in cervical cancer tissues and four cervical cancer cell lines by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Elevated TUG1 expression was correlated with larger tumor size, advanced international federation of gynecology and obstetrics (FIGO) stage, poor differentiation, and lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, knockdown of TUG1 suppressed cell proliferation with activation of apoptosis, in part by regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and caspase-3. Silencing of TUG1 inhibited cell migration and invasion via the progression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Taken together, our findings indicate that TUG1 acts as an oncogene in cervical cancer and may represent a novel therapeutic target.