LncRNA LHFPL3-AS1 contributes to tumorigenesis of melanoma stem cells via the miR-181a-5p/BCL2 pathway

Cell Death Dis. 2020 Nov 4;11(11):950. doi: 10.1038/s41419-020-03141-1.

Abstract

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are recognized as a new area for cancer therapy. B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2)-mediated suppression of apoptosis is an important molecular hallmark of cancer. However, the influence of lncRNA on the regulation of oncogenic Bcl-2 in cancer stem cells has not been explored. In this study, our findings revealed that the lncRNA LHFPL3-AS1-long, generated from the polypyrimidine tract binding protein 1 (PTBP1)-mediated splicing of the LHFPL3-AS1 precursor, upregulated BCL2 protein to contribute to tumorigenesis of melanoma stem cells. The in vitro and in vivo results showed that LHFPL3-AS1-long directly interacted with miR-181a-5p to inhibit the mRNA degradation of Bcl-2 (the target of miR-181), thus suppressing apoptosis of melanoma stem cells. The splicing factor PTBP1 regulated the alternative splicing of LHFPL3-AS1 transcript by preferentially binding to the motifs located in exon3 of LHFPL3-AS1 precursor, leading to the biogenesis of LHFPL3-AS1-long in melanoma stem cells. In patients with melanoma, the expressions of PTBP1 and LHFPL3-AS1 were significantly upregulated compared with the healthy donors. Therefore, our study revealed a mechanistic crosstalk among an onco-splicing factor, lncRNA and tumorigenesis of melanoma stem cells, enabling PTBP1 and LHFPL3-AS1 to serve as the attractive therapeutic targets for melanoma.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism
  • Cell Cycle
  • Cell Movement
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic*
  • Humans
  • Melanoma / genetics
  • Melanoma / metabolism
  • Melanoma / pathology*
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Nude
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells / metabolism
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells / pathology*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / metabolism*
  • RNA, Antisense / genetics
  • RNA, Long Noncoding / genetics*
  • Tumor Cells, Cultured
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • BCL2 protein, human
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • LHFPL3 protein, human
  • MIrn181 microRNA, human
  • Membrane Proteins
  • MicroRNAs
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2
  • RNA, Antisense
  • RNA, Long Noncoding