LINC00629, a HOXB4-downregulated long noncoding RNA, inhibits glycolysis and ovarian cancer progression by destabilizing c-Myc.

ABSTRACT

Ovarian cancer (OC) cells typically reprogram their metabolism to promote rapid proliferation. However, the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the metabolic reprogramming of ovarian cancer, especially in glucose metabolic reprogramming, remains largely unknown. LINC00629 has been reported in our previous study to promote osteosarcoma progression. Upregulated LINC00629 was found to enhance the growth-suppressive effect of apigenin on oral squamous cell carcinoma. However, the precise function of LINC00629 in ovarian cancer development remains poorly understood. In this study, we found that LINC00629 was significantly downregulated in OC tissues and that low LINC00629 expression was associated with poor survival. Inhibition of LINC00629 was required for increased glycolysis activity and cell proliferation in ovarian cancer. In vivo, overexpression of LINC00629 dramatically inhibited tumor growth and lung metastasis. Mechanistically, LINC00629 interacted with and destabilized c-Myc, leading to its ubiquitination and proteasome degradation, further resulting in increased expression of downstream glycolysis-related genes and glucose metabolic reprogramming in OC. Interestingly, HOXB4 bound to the LINC00629 promoter and inhibited its transcription, indicating that LINC00629 is a transcriptional target of HOXB4. Collectively, these findings establish a direct role for LINC00629 in suppressing glucose metabolism, and HOXB4/LINC00629/c-Myc might serve as a potential biomarker and an effective therapeutic strategy for OC cancer treatment.