Long non‐coding RNA FEZF1‐AS1 promotes breast cancer stemness and tumorigenesis via targeting miR‐30a/Nanog axis

Long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been verified to modulate the tumorigenesis of breast cancer at multiple levels. In present study, we aim to investigate the role of lncRNA FEZF1‐AS1 on breast cancer‐stem like cells (BCSC) and the potential regulatory mechanism. In breast cancer tissue, lncRNA FEZF1‐AS1 was up‐regulated compared with controls and indicated poor prognosis of breast cancer patients. In vitro experiments, FEZF1‐AS1 was significantly over‐expressed in breast cancer cells, especially in sphere subpopulation compared with parental subpopulation. Loss‐of‐functional indicated that, in BCSC cells (MDA‐MB‐231 CSC, MCF‐7 CSC), FEZF1‐AS1 knockdown reduced the CD44⁺/CD24^? rate, the mammosphere‐forming ability, stem factors (Nanog, Oct4, SOX2), and inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion. In vivo, FEZF1‐AS1 knockdown inhibited the breast cancer cells growth. Bioinformatics analysis tools and series of validation experiments confirmed that FEZF1‐AS1 modulated BCSC and Nanog expression through sponging miR‐30a, suggesting the regulation of FEZF1‐AS1/miR‐30a/Nanog. In summary, our study validate the important role of FEZF1‐AS1/miR‐30a/Nanog in breast cancer stemness and tumorigenesis, providing a novel insight and treatment strategy for breast cancer.     

窖蛋白-1与乳腺癌

 窖蛋白(caveolin)是分子量为21～24 kD的整合膜蛋白,是胞膜窖(caveolae)的标志性结构分子.目前已克隆并鉴定出窖蛋白基因家族的3个成员：窖蛋白-1,窖蛋白-2和窖蛋白-3.其中窖蛋白-1参与细胞内的许多生命活动,如胆固醇的运输,细胞膜的组装,细胞信号传导,细胞周期调控,细胞转化和肿瘤形成.窖蛋白-1还可以与转录因子相互作用,调节相关基因的表达,抑制肿瘤发生.另外,在乳腺癌、前列腺癌、胃癌、肝癌等多种恶性肿瘤中均发现窖蛋白-1的异常;近年来发现,窖蛋白-1与乳腺上皮细胞转化和乳腺癌发生密切相关.本文概括介绍了窖蛋白-1的结构特点、窖蛋白-1介导的信号通路及与乳腺癌发生的关系方面的研究进展.