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LncRNA UCA1/miR‐124 axis modulates TGFβ1‐induced epithelial‐mesenchymal transition and invasion of tongue cancer cells through JAG1/Notch signaling
Author(s) -
Zhang Tonghan,
Liang Lizhong,
Liu Xiaoling,
Wu Jinan,
Su Kui,
Chen Jueyao,
Zheng Qiaoyi
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of cellular biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 165
eISSN - 1097-4644
pISSN - 0730-2312
DOI - 10.1002/jcb.28334
Subject(s) - epithelial–mesenchymal transition , gene knockdown , metastasis , vimentin , cancer research , cancer , jag1 , tongue , cancer cell , cell migration , microrna , biology , malat1 , chemistry , cell , notch signaling pathway , long non coding rna , signal transduction , pathology , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , downregulation and upregulation , immunology , apoptosis , immunohistochemistry , gene , biochemistry
Abstract Tongue cancer remains a massive threat to public health due to the high rate of metastasis. Tumor cell epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT), which can be induced by transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1), has been regarded as a significant contributor to cancer invasion and migration. In our previous study, long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) MALAT1/miR‐124/JAG1 axis modulates the growth of tongue cancer. In addition to metastasis‐associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), another lncRNA, urothelial cancer associated 1 (UCA1), can promote EMT and cancer metastasis. In the present study, UCA1 was overexpressed in tongue cancer tissues and cell lines. UCA1 overexpression was correlated to the poorer prognosis of patients with tongue cancer. UCA1 knockdown significantly suppressed TGFβ1‐induced tongue cancer cell invasion and EMT by decreasing vimentin and increasing E‐cadherin. Regarding the molecular mechanism, UCA1 could directly bind to microRNA‐124 (miR‐124) and negatively regulate each other. UCA1 knockdown ameliorated, whereas miR‐124 inhibition exacerbated TGFβ1‐induced EMT and invasion in tongue cancer cells through miR‐124 downstream jagged 1 (JAG1) and Notch signaling. Moreover, miR‐124 inhibition partially impaired the effect of UCA1 knockdown. In tongue cancer tissues, miR‐124 expression was remarkably decreased, whereas JAG1 mRNA expression was increased. miR‐124 was negatively correlated with UCA1 and JAG1. UCA1 and JAG1 were positively correlated. In summary, we provided a novel mechanism by which the EMT process and cancer cell invasion in tongue cancer could be modulated from the perspective of lncRNA‐miRNA‐mRNA regulation.