title: Upregulation of long non-coding RNA PRNCR1 in colorectal cancer promotes cell proliferation and cell cycle progression.
abstract: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been confirmed to play a critical regulatory role in various biological processes including carcinogenesis, which indicates that lncRNAs are valuable biomarkers and therapeutic targets. The novel lncRNA prostate cancer non-coding RNA 1 (PRNCR1) is located in the susceptible genomic area of CRC, however the functional role of PRNCR1 remains unknown. Thus, we aimed to investigate the clinical significance and biological function of PRNCR1 in CRC. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to assess the expression profile of PRNCR1 in CRC tissues and cell lines. An antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) was designed to knock down PRNCR1. In a cohort of 63 patients, PRNCR1 was significantly overexpressed in CRC tissues compared with the expression in adjacent tissues, with an average fold increase of 10.55 (P=0.006). Additionally, a high level of PRNCR1 was associated with large tumor volume (P<0.05). Based on receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), we found that the area under the curve (AUC) of PRNCR1 was 0.799 while the AUC of conventional biomarker CEA-CA199 was 0.651, indicating that PRNCR1 could be a sensitive diagnostic biomarker of CRC. Compared with the normal human colorectal epithelial cell line (FHC), PRNCR1 was upregulated in most CRC cell lines (HCT116, SW480, LoVo and HT-29). After knockdown of PRNCR1 by ASO, CRC cell proliferation ability was significantly inhibited. We further found that PRNCR1 knockdown induced cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase and a significant decrease in the proportion of cells in the S phases. In contrast, PRNCR1 knockdown did not affect cell apoptosis or invasive ability. Hence, these data indicate that PRNCR1 promotes the proliferation of CRC cells and is a potential oncogene of CRC.
authors.affiliation: Colorectal Cancer Center, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Cancer Research, Cancer Institute of Jiangsu, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: The Fourth Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mantang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Medical University, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Cancer Institute of Jiangsu, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Youtao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Scientific Research, Nanjing Medical University, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Cancer Institute of Jiangsu, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Cancer Institute of Jiangsu, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yanyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Medical University, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Cancer Institute of Jiangsu, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Medical University, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Cancer Institute of Jiangsu, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Medical University, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Cancer Institute of Jiangsu, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yin
mesh_terms: D002453:Cell Cycle; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D045325:HCT116 Cells; D019073:HT29 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000235:genetics*; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: C000611466:PRNCR1 long non-coding RNA, human; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding