Published online Aug 15, 2023. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v15.i8.1366
Peer-review started: February 12, 2023
First decision: March 28, 2023
Revised: April 11, 2023
Accepted: June 19, 2023
Article in press: June 19, 2023
Published online: August 15, 2023
Processing time: 178 Days and 23.8 Hours
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of RNA molecules with a length of more than 200 nucleotides. It plays an important role in many life activities such as epigenetic regulation, cell cycle regulation, and cell differentiation regulation. More and more studies have found that lncRNAs also affect the occurrence and development of tumors. LncRNAs have also been found to be involved in the regulation of gastric cancer (GC) progression, which may open up new directions for the diagnosis and treatment of GC.
GC is still a malignant tumor of digestive system with high incidence rate and mortality worldwide. Although many lncRNAs related to GC have been discovered in recent years, our understanding of their mechanisms of action is not yet deep enough. Exploring more GC associated lncRNAs and delving into the underlying mechanisms will help us learn more about the development and progression of GC, and hopefully improve the early screening rate and cure rate of GC.
The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of high expression of LINC01268 in GC on the diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of GC patients, and to explore the impact and mechanism of LINC01268 on the biological behavior of GC cells in vitro experiments. Our study found that GC patients with high expression of LINC01268 have poor prognosis. High expression of LINC01268 can activate the MARCKS and PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, promoting the invasion, metastasis, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) processes of GC cells. These may provide potential directions for targeted therapeutic drugs for GC.
Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of LINC01268 in GC. The receiver operating characteristic curve and Kaplan-Meier method were used for the analysis of the diagnostic value and prognostic evaluation of LINC01268 in patients with GC. Transwell assays and wound healing assays were used to confirm the effect of LINC01268 on the invasion and migration of GC cells. The regulatory relationship between LINC01268 and MARCKS, the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and the EMT process in GC was demonstrated by western blot analysis.
Our study found that high expression of LINC01268 was associated with some pathological features of GC patients and was predictive of poor prognosis. In vitro experiments, after knocking down LINC01268, the invasion and metastasis ability of MGC80-3 and AGS decreased. Meanwhile, molecular mechanism studies have found that LINC01268 may regulate the MARCKS, PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and EMT process in GC cells.
LINC01268 may promote GC invasion and metastasis by activating MARCKS, PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and promoting EMT process. High expression of LINC01268 contributed to the poor prognosis of GC patients.
The present study provides a promising direction for targeted therapy of GC. Animal experiments and more comprehensive molecular biology experiments would be better to confirm our conclusions, which is also the direction of our future research.