TGF-β1-Induced LINC01094 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition in hepatocellular carcinoma through the miR-122-5p/TGFBR2-SAMD2-SMAD3 Axis

Funct Integr Genomics. 2024 Jul 12;24(4):123. doi: 10.1007/s10142-024-01403-1.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy with a poor prognosis. It has been proven that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an essential role in regulating HCC progression. However, the involvement of LINC01094 in regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in HCC remains unclear. LINC01094 expression in HCC patients was retrieved from the Cancer Genome Atlas database. Overexpressing and downregulating LINC01094 were conducted to investigate its biological functions using Hep3B, SNU-387, and HuH-7 cells. Western blotting and morphological observation were performed to study the EMT in HCC cells. Transwell assay was adopted to determine the migration and invasion of HCC cells. The underlying mechanism of competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) was investigated using bioinformatics analysis, quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, and rescue experiments. Elevated LINC01094 expression was observed in HCC and associated with a poor prognosis. Knockdown of LINC01094 expression in SNU-387 and HuH-7 cells could inhibit migration, invasion, and EMT markers. Overexpression of LINC01094 indicated that LINC01094 promoted EMT via the TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathway. The bioinformatics analysis revealed that miR-122-5p was a target of LINC01094. The miRWalk database analysis showed that TGFBR2, SMAD2, and SMAD3 were downstream targets of miR-122-5p. Mechanically, LINC01094 acted as a ceRNA that facilitated HCC metastasis by sponging miR-122-5p to regulate the expression of TGFBR2, SMAD2, and SMAD3. Further, TGF-β1 could enhance the expression of LINC01094, forming a positive feedback loop. TGF-β1-induced LINC01094 expression promotes HCC cell migration and invasion by targeting the miR-122-5p/TGFBR2-SMAD2-SMAD3 axis. LINC01094 may be a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC metastasis.

Keywords: EMT; HCC; Metastasis; TGF-β1; miR-122-5p.

MeSH terms

  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / genetics
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / metabolism
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / pathology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Movement
  • Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition* / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Humans
  • Liver Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Liver Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Liver Neoplasms* / pathology
  • MicroRNAs* / genetics
  • MicroRNAs* / metabolism
  • RNA, Long Noncoding* / genetics
  • RNA, Long Noncoding* / metabolism
  • Receptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type II* / genetics
  • Receptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type II* / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction
  • Smad3 Protein* / genetics
  • Smad3 Protein* / metabolism
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta1* / genetics
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta1* / metabolism

Substances

  • MicroRNAs
  • Smad3 Protein
  • RNA, Long Noncoding
  • SMAD3 protein, human
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta1
  • MIRN122 microRNA, human
  • Receptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type II
  • TGFBR2 protein, human
  • TGFB1 protein, human