Increased LncRNA PVT-1 is associated with tumor proliferation and predicts poor prognosis in cervical cancer | Zhou | Clinical Surgery Research Communications

Increased LncRNA PVT-1 is associated with tumor proliferation and predicts poor prognosis in cervical cancer

Yun-xiao Zhou, Li-wei Mao, Yan-li Wang, Li-qun Xia, Wei Zhao

Abstract


Background: Cervical cancer is estimated to be the second most common cancer among women worldwide. The discovery of new and effective therapeutic strategies targeting cervical cancer is urgently needed. Upregulation of lncRNA PVT-1 and its biological significance in several cancers has been studied. However, its role in cervical cancer remains poorly understood. This study was designed to investigate the expression, clinical significance, and biological role of PVT-1 in cervical cancer.

Methods: Expression of PVT-1was analyzed in the sera of 120 cervical cancer patients and 118 normal control women by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The associations between PVT-1 and clinicopathological characteristics, as well as the survival probability of patients, were analyzed by statistical analysis. pcDNA3.1 and siRNAs were used to modulate PVT-1 expression in Hela and C33A cells. In vitro assays were performed to further explore the biological functions of PVT-1 in cervical cancer cells.

Results: The qRT-PCR results revealed high levels of expression of PVT-1 in cervical cancer patients, and PVT-1 was significantly higher in patients at advanced tumor stages and in patients whose tumor size was ≥3 cm and whose lymphatic node metastasis was positive. In addition, cervical cancer patients with high PVT-1 expression tended to have shorter overall survival than those with low PVT-1 expression. Moreover, PVT-1 overexpression promoted proliferation of Hela and C33A cells, whereas knockdown of PVT-1 induced apoptosis of Hela and C33A cells.

Conclusion: The findings of this study illustrate that increased circulating LncRNA PVT-1 is associated with poor prognosis and that PVT-1 stimulates proliferation of cervical cancer cells. These results identify an important role of PVT-1 in cervical cancer progression and a promising candidate for the prognosis and therapy of cervical cancer.




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