Large noncoding RNA HOTAIR enhances aggressive biological behavior and is associated with short disease-free survival in human non-small cell lung cancer

• Published in: Biochemical and biophysical research communications 2013-06, Vol.436 (2), p.319-324
• Main Authors: Nakagawa, Takayuki, Endo, Hiroyuki, Yokoyama, Misa, Abe, Jiro, Tamai, Keiichi, Tanaka, Nobuyuki, Sato, Ikuro, Takahashi, Satomi, Kondo, Takashi, Satoh, Kennichi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Brain Neoplasms - genetics; Brain Neoplasms - secondary; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - genetics; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - pathology; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Movement - genetics; Cell Survival - genetics; Disease-Free Survival; Female; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; HOTAIR; Humans; Invasion; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Lung Neoplasms - genetics; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Lymphatic Metastasis; Male; Metastasis; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Neoplasm Staging; Non-coding RNA; Non-small cell lung cancer; Prognosis; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA Interference; RNA, Long Noncoding - genetics; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0006-291X; 1090-2104
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2013.05.101

•The expression of HOTAIR is associated with short disease-free survival of non-small cell lung cancer patients.•HOTAIR expression is significantly higher in brain metastatic lesions than in primary lesions.•Forced expression of HOTAIR enhances lung cancer cell migration and anchorage-independent cell growth. HOTAIR is one of long non-coding RNAs and its expression correlates with the prognosis and metastasis in various cancers. We showed that HOTAIR expression has an important role in the development of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we examined the expression of HOTAIR in 77 NSCLCs, their corresponding normal lung tissues and 6 brain metastases by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. High expression of HOTAIR (tumor/normal ratio ⩾2) was detected in 17 patients (22.1%) and was frequently found in patients with advanced stage, lymph node metastasis or lymph-vascular invasion and short disease free interval. Furthermore, brain metastases show significantly higher HOTAIR expression compared to primary cancer tissues. HOTAIR-expressing A549 cells showed induced cell migration and anchorage-independent cell growth in vitro. These results indicate the expression of HOTAIR enhanced the aggressive behavior of NSCLC cells.