Super-enhancer Associated Long Non-coding RNA AC005592.2 Promotes Tumor Progression by Regulating OLFM4 in Colorectal Cancer
Abstract Background: Super-enhancer-associated long non-coding RNAs (SE-lncRNAs) have been reported to play essential roles in tumorigenesis, but the fundamental mechanism of SE-lncRNAs in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains largely unknown. Methods: A microarray was performed to identify the differentially expressed SE-lncRNAs between CRC tissues and peritumoral tissues. A novel SE-lncRNA AC005592.2 was selected from these differentially expressed SE-lncRNAs to explore its effects in the CRC development. Fluorescence quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to assay the expression of AC005592.2 in CRC tissues and cell lines. Functional assays were applied to identify the biological effects of AC005592.2 in CRC cells. Furthermore, RNA-seq was employed to predict potential targets of AC005592.2. Results: AC005592.2 was significantly increased in CRC tissues and cells. And the high expression of AC005592.2 was significantly associated with TNM stage and tumor differentiation of CRC patients. Knockdown of AC005592.2 suppressed CRC cell proliferation, invasion and migration, but promoted apoptosis, while AC005592.2 overexpression exerted precisely the opposite effects on CRC cells. Besides, AC005592.2 positively regulated the expression of olfactomedin 4 (OLFM4), which was also up-regulation in CRC tissues. Conclusion: The findings suggested that AC005592.2 is a crucial promoter of CRC progression, and may serve as an attractive therapeutic target for CRC.