Identification of a seven-lncRNAs panel that serves as a prognosis predictor and contributes to the malignant progression of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is one of the most frequent head and neck cancers worldwide. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a critical role in tumorigenesis. However, the clinical significance of lncRNAs in LSCC remains largely unknown. Methods: In this study, transcriptome sequencing was performed on 107 LSCC and paired adjacent normal mucosa (ANM) tissues. Furthermore, RNA expression and clinical data of 111 LSCC samples were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Bioinformatics analysis were performed to construct a model for predicting the overall survival (OS) of LSCC patients. Moreover, we investigated the roles of lncRNAs in LSCC cells through loss-of-function experiments. Results: A seven-lncRNAs panel including ENSG00000233397, BARX1-DT, LSAMP-AS1, HOXB-AS4, MNX1-AS1, LINC01385, and LINC02893 was identified. The Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that the seven-lncRNAs panel was significantly associated with OS (HR:6.21 [3.27-11.81], p-value<0.0001), disease-specific survival (DSS) (HR:4.34 [1.83-10.26], p-value=0.0008), and progression-free interval (PFI) (HR:3.78 [1.92-7.43], p-value=0.0001). ROC curves showed the seven-lncRNAs panel predicts OS with good specificity and sensitivity. Separately silencing the seven lncRNAs inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion capacity of LSCC cells. Conclusion: Collectively, this seven-lncRNAs panel is a promising signature for predicting the prognosis of LSCC patients, and these lncRNAs could serve as potential targets for LSCC treatment.

[Biological function and clinical significance of long non-coding RNA LINC00342 in head and neck squamous carcinoma].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the long-non-coding RNA LINC00342 expression and the clinicopathological parameters of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and the biological function of LINC00342 in HNSCC cells. Methods: The expression level of LINC00342 in the HNSCC was analyzed using transcriptome sequencing data from TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database, and the expressions of LINC00342 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma tissues (LSCC) of 27 patients in the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University were detected by transcriptome sequencing. The expression levels of LINC00342 in human embryonic lung diploid cells 2BS, HNSCC cell lines FD-LSC-1, CAL-27 and Detroit562 were determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). RNAi (RNA interference) was used for LINC00342 knockdown in HNSCC cell lines, and the changes of malignant phenotype in the tumor cells after LINC00342 knockdown were examined by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation, flow cytometry, transwell invasion and migration assays. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to construct a LINC00342-centered competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory network, and GO (Gene Ontology) enrichment analysis was performed. Statistical analysis and graphing were performed using SPSS 25.0 software and GraphPad Prism 6 software. Results: Mean LINC00342 levels in HNSCC tissues and TCGA database were higher than that in normal control tissues, but with no significantly statistical difference (P=0.522). LINC00342 expression levels were positively correlated with cervical lymph node metastasis and pathological grade in patients with HNSCC, with higher expression in male patients than in female patients (P<0.05). Transcriptome sequencing analysis showed that mean expression level of LINC00342 in LSCC tissues of 27 patients was significantly higher than that in the paired adjacent normal mucosa tissues (t=1.56, P=0.036). LINC00342 expression was significantly upregulated in HNSCC cell lines FD-LSC-1, CAL-27 and Detroit562 (t-values of -12.17, -23.26 and -388.57, respectively; all P<0.001). Knockdown of LINC00342 by transfecting si-LINC00342-1 and si-LINC00342-2 inhibited HNSCC cell proliferation (t-values of 8.95 and 4.84, 2.70 and 5.55, 2.02 and 3.70, respectively), colony formation (t-values of 6.66 and 6.17, 7.38 and 11.65, 4.90 and 5.79, respectively), migration (t-values of 8.21 and 7.19, 5.76 and 6.46, 6.28 and 9.92, respectively) and invasion abilities (t-values of 9.29 and 10.25, 11.30 and 11.36, 8.02 and 8.66, respectively), but promoting apoptosis in cell lines FD-LSC-1 and CAL-27 (t-values of -2.21 and -5.83, -3.05 and -5.25 respectively) (all P-values<0.05). The LINC00342-centered ceRNA network consists of 10 downregulated microRNA and 647 upregulated mRNA nodes. GO analysis results indicated that LINC00342-regulated mRNAs were enriched in 22 biological processes, 32 molecular functions, and 12 cellular components. Conclusion: High level of LINC00342 is associated with the malignant progression of HNSCC. LINC00342 promotes the proliferation, migration, invasion, and antagonizes apoptosis of HNSCC cells, which serves as a potential molecular marker in HNSCC.

Corrigendum to "Prevalence of Corneal Astigmatism in Patients before Cataract Surgery in Western China".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2020/5063789.].

Prevalence of Corneal Astigmatism in Patients before Cataract Surgery in Western China.

PURPOSE: To investigate the demographics and distribution of corneal astigmatism before cataract surgery in patients from western China and to compare and analyze these findings with those of patients in southern China. Setting. People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. DESIGN: Clinical-based cross-sectional study. METHODS: Patients undergoing cataract surgery in the People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from February 2012 to August 2019 were recruited. Preoperative keratometric data measured by performing preoperative bilateral partial coherence interferometry (IOLMaster), and patient demographics were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: This study comprised 12,236 eyes of 7065 patients with a mean age of 64.75 ± 9.66 years, and 52.77% of the patients were female. The mean axial length was 23.14 ± 0.96 mm. Astigmatism ranged from 0 diopters (D) to 6.94 D, with a mean of 1.28 D. Corneal astigmatism was between 0.25 D and 1.25 D in 53.71% of eyes, 1.25 D or higher in 39.06% eyes, and less than 0.25 D in 7.23% of eyes. Astigmatism was with the rule (WTR) in 41.94% of the patients and against the rule (ATR) in 38.80% of patients. The mean flat and steep keratometry measurement was 43.19 ± 1.50 D and 44.24 ± 1.62 D, respectively. After matching, corneal astigmatism in western China was 1.30 ± 1.03 D, and it was significantly higher than that in southern China (0.98 ± 0.67 D, P < 0.001). After matching, the proportion of WTR astigmatism was 40.99% in western China, which was also significantly higher than the proportion (26.46%) in southern China (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Corneal astigmatism in patients before cataract surgery in western China was mainly between 0.25 D and 1.25 D. Compared with patients in southern China, patients in western China are younger, have a much higher degree of astigmatism, and have a higher proportion of WTR astigmatism.