Crosstalk of Long Non-coding RNAs and EMT: Searching the Missing Pieces of an Incomplete Puzzle for Lung Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Background: Lung cancer has the first place among cancer-related deaths worldwide and demands novel strategies in the treatment of this life-threatening disorder. The aim of this review is to explore the regulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in lung cancer.

Introduction: LncRNAs can be considered as potential factors for targeting in cancer therapy, since they regulate a bunch of biological processes, e.g. cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. The abnormal expression of lncRNAs occurs in different cancer cells. On the other hand, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical mechanism participating in migration and metastasis of cancer cells.

Methods: Different databases, including Google Scholar, Pubmed and Science direct, were searched for collecting articles using keywords such as "LncRNA", "EMT", and "Lung cancer".

Results: There are tumor-suppressing lncRNAs that can suppress EMT and metastasis of lung cancer cells. Expression of such lncRNAs undergoes down-regulation in lung cancer progression and restoring their expression is of importance in suppressing lung cancer migration. There are tumor- promoting lncRNAs triggering EMT in lung cancer and enhancing their migration.

Conclusion: LncRNAs are potential regulators of EMT in lung cancer, and targeting them, both pharmacologically and genetically, can be of importance in controlling the migration of lung cancer cells.

Keywords: Lung cancer; cadherin.; cancer therapy; epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition; long non-coding RNA; metastasis; microRNA.