LncRNA MCM3AP-AS1 promotes proliferation and invasion through regulating miR-211-5p/SPARC axis in papillary thyroid cancer

• Published in: Endocrine 2019-08, Vol.65 (2), p.318-326
• Main Authors: Liang, Meihua, Jia, Jinliang, Chen, Lili, Wei, Biyue, Guan, Qiang, Ding, Zhaoming, Yu, Jiawei, Pang, Rui, He, Guoqing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetyltransferases - genetics; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell migration; Cell proliferation; Cholecystokinin; Diabetes; E-cadherin; Endocrinology; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Gene Knockdown Techniques; Health risk assessment; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Internal Medicine; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins - genetics; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; MicroRNAs - metabolism; multidisciplinary; Original Article; Osteonectin; Osteonectin - metabolism; Papillary thyroid cancer; RNA, Long Noncoding - metabolism; Science; Therapeutic applications; Thyroid cancer; Thyroid Cancer, Papillary - genetics; Thyroid Cancer, Papillary - metabolism; Thyroid Neoplasms - genetics; Thyroid Neoplasms - metabolism
• ISSN: 1355-008X; 1559-0100
• DOI: 10.1007/s12020-019-01939-4

Background Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are an emerging class of regulators in cancer. A lncRNA, MCM3AP-AS1, has been demonstrated as a versatile mediator in many cancers, except papillary thyroid cancer. The aim of this study is to investigate the role and mechanism of MCM3AP-AS1 in papillary thyroid cancer. Methods Quantitative real-time PCR was used to assess the level of MCM3AP-AS1 and miR-211-5p in papillary thyroid cancer tissues and cells. Western blot was used to detect E-cadherin and secreted protein acidic and cysteine rich (SPARC) protein levels. CCK-8, scratch wound assay, and transwell assay were used to evaluate papillary thyroid cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, respectively. BLAST alignment and luciferase assay were used to explore the interaction among MCM3AP-AS1, mi/r-211, and SPARC. Results In papillary thyroid cancer, MCM3AP-AS1 was upregulated, while miR-211 was downregulated. MCM3AP-AS1 overexpression promoted papillary thyroid cancer proliferation, migration, and invasion. Further, MCM3AP-AS1 was shown to be negatively correlated with miR-211-5p. We next validated that miR-211-5p overexpression could reverse the promoting role of MCM3AP-AS1 in papillary thyroid cancer, whereby SPARC plays an important regulating role. In vivo, we confirmed the anti-tumor role of MCM3AP-AS1 silencing and the close relation among MCM3AP-AS1, miR-211-5p, and SPARC. Conclusions MCM3AP-AS1 promotes papillary thyroid cancer by regulating the MCM3AP-AS1/miR-211-5p/SPARC axis, which could potentially be a therapeutic target in papillary thyroid cancer.