Identifying prognostic lncRNAs based on a ceRNA regulatory network in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Purpose Growing evidence demonstrates that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a crucial role as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) in tumor occurrence. The lncRNAs’ functions and clinical significance in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) remain unclear. The study aims to reveal the lncRNA-associated ceRNA regulatory network of LSCC and clarify its clinical relevance. Methods Here, we obtained LSCC transcriptome data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and identified the differential expression profile of lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs by the EdgeR R package. The function enrichment analysis of mRNAs was performed using clusterProfiler R package and GSEA3.0. Then, we constructed a ceRNA network and prognosis model based on lncRNAs through bioinformatic methods. Moreover, we explored the functions of prognosis-related lncRNA in LSCC by CCK-8 and transwell assay. Results 1961 lncRNAs, 69 miRNAs, and 2224 mRNAs were identified as differentially expressed genes in LSCC tissues. According to the transcriptome differential expression profile, a ceRNA network containing 61 lncRNAs, 21 miRNAs, and 77 mRNAs was established. Then, four lncRNAs (AC011933.2, FAM30A, LINC02086, LINC02575) were identified from the ceRNA network to build a prognosis model for LSCC patients. And we found that LINC02086 and LINC02575 promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of LSCC cells while AC011933.2 and FAM30A inhibited these biological functions in vitro. Furthermore, we validated that LINc02086/miR-770-5p/SLC26A2 axis promoted migration in LSCC. Conclusion Four lncRNAs of the ceRNA network were abnormally expressed and related to patient prognosis in LSCC. They played a significant role in the progress of LSCC via affecting the proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells.