title: The lncRNA H19 promotes epithelial to mesenchymal transition by functioning as miRNA sponges in colorectal cancer.
abstract: Recently, the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) H19 has been identified as an oncogenic gene in multiple cancer types and elevated expression of H19 was tightly linked to tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, the molecular basis for this observation has not been characterized in colorectal cancer (CRC) especially during epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) progression. In our studies, H19 was characterized as a novel regulator of EMT in CRC. We found that H19 was highly expressed in mesenchymal-like cancer cells and primary CRC tissues. Stable expression of H19 significantly promotes EMT progression and accelerates in vivo and in vitro tumor growth. Furthermore, by using bioinformatics study and RNA immunoprecipitation combined with luciferase reporter assays, we demonstrated that H19 functioned as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-138 and miR-200a, antagonized their functions and led to the de-repression of their endogenous targets Vimentin, ZEB1, and ZEB2, all of which were core marker genes for mesenchymal cells. Taken together, these observations imply that the lncRNA H19 modulated the expression of multiple genes involved in EMT by acting as a competing endogenous RNA, which may build up the missing link between the regulatory miRNA network and EMT progression.
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, P.R. China.|Croucher Laboratory for Human Genomics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei-Cheng
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Guangzhou Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei-Ming
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, P.R. China.|Croucher Laboratory for Human Genomics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Cheuk-Wa
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei-Mao
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guo-Xin
authors.initials: GX
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Nanshan Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College, Shenzhen, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Li-Jia
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: David Chi-Cheong
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, P.R. China.|Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jin-Fang
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, P.R. China.|Croucher Laboratory for Human Genomics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mary Miu-Yee
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Waye
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000235:genetics*; D045325:HCT116 Cells; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D019073:HT29 Cells; D064593:Heterografts; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: C094335:H19 long non-coding RNA; D035683:MicroRNAs; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding
keywords: ceRNA; lncRNA; miRNA sponges