Overexpression of lncRNA HOXA-AS2 promotes the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma by mediating SNX5 expression.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common head and neck cancers. Long non-coding RNA HOXA-AS2 (lncRNA HOXA-AS2) have been extensively studied in various cancers. However, the expression and function of HOXA-AS2 in OSCC still remain unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate the roles of HOXA-AS2 in OSCC. OSCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues were obtained from OSCC patients. RT-qPCR and Western blot assays were used to detect the expression of target genes in OSCC tissues or cells. Cells proliferation, migration and invasion were detected by CCK-8 and transwell assays, respectively. The target gene of HOXA-AS2 was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. We found that HOXA-AS2 expression was remarkably upregulated in OSCC tissues and cell lines. The downregulation of HOXA-AS2 inhibited cells proliferation, migration and invasion. Our bioinformatics analysis found that HOXA-AS2 can target miR-520c-3p, which was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. The expression of HOXA-AS2 was found to be negatively associated with miR-520c-3p in OSCC tissues. Moreover, sorting nexin 5 (SNX5), a downstream target of miR-520c-3p, was inhibited by miR-520c-3p overexpression. SNX5 was also increased in OSCC tissues and cell lines. Additionally, we found that the higher expression of SNX5 was strongly associated with the tumor grade of OSCC patients in Oncomine database. Most importantly, the knockdown of HOXA-AS2 induced cells apoptosis by promoting autophagy by regulating SNX5. HOXA-AS2 served an oncogene and promoted OSCC progression via the miR-520c-3p/SNX5 axis. Thus, HOXA-AS2 may be a new biomarker for diagnosis and treatment of OSCC.

Li Z 《BMC Molecular and Cell Biology》

HOXA-AS2 Promotes Proliferation and Induces Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition via the miR-520c-3p/GPC3 Axis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Zhang Y ，Xu J ，Zhang S ，An J ，Zhang J ，Huang J ，Jin Y ... -  《-》

Long Noncoding RNA HOXA-AS2 Promotes Papillary Thyroid Cancer Progression by Regulating miR-520c-3p/S100A4 Pathway.

Thyroid cancer is one of the most prevalent endocrine tumors. The present study examined the effects of lncRNA HOXA cluster antisense RNA2 (HOXA-AS2) on the progression of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), and explored the underlying molecular mechanisms. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect HOXA-AS2, miR-520c-3p and S100 calcium-binding protein A4 (S100A4) expression. Furthermore, the effects of HOXA-AS2 silencing and overexpression on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were assessed in PTC in vitro by CCK8 and transwell assay. Furthermore, bioinformatics online programs predicted and luciferase reporter assay were used to validate the association of HOXA-AS2 and miR-520c-3p in PTC. We observed that HOXA-AS2 was up-regulated in PTC tissues. In vitro experiments revealed that HOXA-AS2 knockdown significantly inhibited cell growth in PTC in vitro and in vivo. Further functional assays indicated that HOXA-AS2 significantly promoted PTC cell migration and invasion by promoting EMT. Bioinformatics online programs predicted that HOXA-AS2 sponge miR-520c-3p at 3'-UTR with complementary binding sites, which was validated using luciferase reporter assay. HOXA-AS2 could negatively regulate the expression of miR-520c-3p in PTC cells. MiR-520c-3p was down-regulated in PTC tissues, and S100A4 was predicted as a downstream target of miR-520c-3p, which was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. In summary, our results suggested that the HOXA-AS2/miR-520c-3p/S100A4 axis may play an important role in the regulation of PTC progression, which provides us with new insights into understanding the PTC.

Xia F ，Chen Y ，Jiang B ，Du X ，Peng Y ，Wang W ，Huang W ，Feng T ，Li X ... -  《-》

Long non-coding RNA HOXA-AS2 promotes migration and invasion by acting as a ceRNA of miR-520c-3p in osteosarcoma cells.

Wang Y ，Zhang R ，Cheng G ，Xu R ，Han X ... -  《-》

LncRNA HOXA-AS2 Promotes Oral Squamous Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion via Upregulating EZH2 as an Oncogene.

Zhao Z ，Xing Y ，Yang F ，Zhao Z ，Shen Y ，Song J ，Jing S ... -  《-》