LncRNA DLGAP1-AS2 is overexpressed in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and may promote cell proliferation by upregulating cyclin D1 by sponging miR-503, according to a study published in BMC Pulmonary Medicine.
Effective targets for lung cancer remain lacking. However, it has been suggested that lncRNAs and miRNAs are promising targets for cancer therapy. To explore this, researchers performed a bioinformatics analysis and predicted the potential interaction between DLGAP1-AS2 and miR-503, targeting cyclin D1 to suppress tumor growth. They then explored the interactions among DLGAP1-AS2, miR-503, and cyclin D1 in NSCLC by performing a 5-year follow-up study in 64 NSCLC patients.
The interaction between DLGAP1-AS2 and miR-503 was confirmed by dual luciferase reporter assay, and their relationship was explored in NSCLC cells transfected with DLGAP1-AS2 expression vector or miR-503 mimic. The roles of DLGAP1-AS2 and miR-503 in regulating cyclin D1 expression were analyzed by RT-qPCR and western blot, and cell proliferation was analyzed by CCK-8 assay.
The researchers found that DLGAP1-AS2 was upregulated in NSCLC and predicted poor survival and the interaction between DLGAP1-AS2 and miR-503 was confirmed by dual luciferase activity assay. They also found that in overexpression experiments, DLGAP1-AS2 and miR-503 overexpression failed to significantly affect the expression of each other. However, DLGAP1-AS2 overexpression upregulated cyclin D1, a target of miR-503, which increased cell proliferation and reduced the effects of miR-503 overexpression on cyclin D1 expression and cell proliferation.
The authors concluded that, “DLGAP1-AS2 is overexpressed in NSCLC and might upregulate cyclin D1 by sponging miR-503 to promote NSCLC cell proliferation.”
Reference
Wang L, Tang L, Ge T, et al. LncRNA DLGAP1-AS2 regulates miR-503/cyclin D1 to promote cell proliferation in non-small cell lung cancer. BMC Pulm Med. 2021;21:277. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12890-021-01633-0