title: H19 promotes endometrial cancer progression by modulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition.
abstract: Endometrial cancer is one of the most common types of gynecological malignancy worldwide. Novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets are imperative for improving patients' survival. Previous studies have suggested the long non-coding RNA H19 as a potential cancer biomarker. To investigate the role of H19 in endometrial cancer, the present study examined the expression pattern of H19 in endometrial cancer tissues by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and characterized its function in the endometrial cancer cell line via knocking down its expression with small interfering RNAs. It was found that H19 level was significantly higher in tumor tissues than in paratumoral tissues. Knockdown of H19 did not affect the growth rate of HEC-1-B endometrial cancer cells, but significantly suppressedin vitromigration and invasion of HEC-1-B cells. Furthermore, H19 downregulation decreased Snail level and increased E-cadherin expression without affecting vimentin level, indicating partial reversion of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The present findings suggested that H19 contributed to the aggressiveness of endometrial cancer by modulating EMT process.
authors.affiliation: Center for Translational Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Le
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.affiliation: Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.affiliation: Center for Translational Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: H19; endometrial cancer; epithelial-mesenchymal transition