Mechanism of aberrant long non-coding RNA expression in an adriamycin-resistant liver cancer cell strain.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Aberrant long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) expression in cancer can be used as a potential diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target. In the present study we determined the potential pathogenic mechanism underlying significant aberrant expression of lncRNAs in HepG2-ADR. METHODS: First, we identified different levels of lncRNA expression in liver cancer and adjacent non-tumor tissues obtained from public data (GSE70880) in NCBI. Then, the results were verified in a sensitive liver cancer cell line (HepG2) and a adriamycin-resistant liver cancer cell line (HepG2-ADR). Then, the effects of lncRNAs on the phenotype and some biological characteristics were also determined in HepG2 and HepG2-ADR through overexpression and using siRNA interference methods. RESULTS: We showed that lncRNA ENST00000425005 is highly expressed in a liver cancer-resistant cell line when compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues based on bioinformatics analysis and qPCR verification. Compared with the control group, overexpression of lncRNA ENST00000425005 significantly promoted proliferation and adhesiveness, but inhibited apoptosis in HepG2-ADR cells. In contrast, interference of lncRNA in HepG2-ADR cells suppressed proliferation and adhesiveness, and induced apoptosis. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, lncRNA ENST00000425005 promotes cell proliferation and invasion in drug-resistant liver cancer cells by regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related gene expression and participating in the regulation of EGF and FGF7.