TY - JOUR
T1 - Therapeutic potential of FLANC, a novel primate-specific long non-coding RNA in colorectal cancer
AU - Pichler, Martin
AU - Rodriguez-Aguayo, Cristian
AU - Nam, Su Youn
AU - Dragomir, Mihnea Paul
AU - Bayraktar, Recep
AU - Anfossi, Simone
AU - Knutsen, Erik
AU - Ivan, Cristina
AU - Fuentes-Mattei, Enrique
AU - Lee, Sang Kil
AU - Ling, Hui
AU - Catela Ivkovic, Tina
AU - Huang, Guoliang
AU - Huang, Li
AU - Okugawa, Yoshinaga
AU - Katayama, Hiroyuki
AU - Taguchi, Ayumu
AU - Bayraktar, Emine
AU - Bhattacharya, Rajat
AU - Amero, Paola
AU - He, William Ruixian
AU - Tran, Anh M.
AU - Vychytilova-Faltejskova, Petra
AU - Klec, Christiane
AU - Bonilla, Diana L.
AU - Zhang, Xinna
AU - Kapitanovic, Sanja
AU - Loncar, Bozo
AU - Gafà, Roberta
AU - Wang, Zhihui
AU - Cristini, Vittorio
AU - Hanash, Samir M.
AU - Bar-Eli, Menashe
AU - Lanza, Giovanni
AU - Slaby, Ondrej
AU - Goel, Ajay
AU - Rigoutsos, Isidore
AU - Lopez-Berestein, Gabriel
AU - Calin, George Adrian
N1 - © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
PY - 2020/10/1
Y1 - 2020/10/1
N2 - Objective To investigate the function of a novel primate-specific long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), named FLANC, based on its genomic location (co-localised with a pyknon motif), and to characterise its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target. Design FLANC expression was analysed in 349 tumours from four cohorts and correlated to clinical data. In a series of multiple in vitro and in vivo models and molecular analyses, we characterised the fundamental biological roles of this lncRNA. We further explored the therapeutic potential of targeting FLANC in a mouse model of colorectal cancer (CRC) metastases. Results FLANC, a primate-specific lncRNA feebly expressed in normal colon cells, was significantly upregulated in cancer cells compared with normal colon samples in two independent cohorts. High levels of FLANC were associated with poor survival in two additional independent CRC patient cohorts. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that the modulation of FLANC expression influenced cellular growth, apoptosis, migration, angiogenesis and metastases formation ability of CRC cells. In vivo pharmacological targeting of FLANC by administration of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine nanoparticles loaded with a specific small interfering RNA, induced significant decrease in metastases, without evident tissue toxicity or pro-inflammatory effects. Mechanistically, FLANC upregulated and prolonged the half-life of phosphorylated STAT3, inducing the overexpression of VEGFA, a key regulator of angiogenesis. Conclusions Based on our findings, we discovered, FLANC as a novel primate-specific lncRNA that is highly upregulated in CRC cells and regulates metastases formation. Targeting primate-specific transcripts such as FLANC may represent a novel and low toxic therapeutic strategy for the treatment of patients.
AB - Objective To investigate the function of a novel primate-specific long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), named FLANC, based on its genomic location (co-localised with a pyknon motif), and to characterise its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target. Design FLANC expression was analysed in 349 tumours from four cohorts and correlated to clinical data. In a series of multiple in vitro and in vivo models and molecular analyses, we characterised the fundamental biological roles of this lncRNA. We further explored the therapeutic potential of targeting FLANC in a mouse model of colorectal cancer (CRC) metastases. Results FLANC, a primate-specific lncRNA feebly expressed in normal colon cells, was significantly upregulated in cancer cells compared with normal colon samples in two independent cohorts. High levels of FLANC were associated with poor survival in two additional independent CRC patient cohorts. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that the modulation of FLANC expression influenced cellular growth, apoptosis, migration, angiogenesis and metastases formation ability of CRC cells. In vivo pharmacological targeting of FLANC by administration of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine nanoparticles loaded with a specific small interfering RNA, induced significant decrease in metastases, without evident tissue toxicity or pro-inflammatory effects. Mechanistically, FLANC upregulated and prolonged the half-life of phosphorylated STAT3, inducing the overexpression of VEGFA, a key regulator of angiogenesis. Conclusions Based on our findings, we discovered, FLANC as a novel primate-specific lncRNA that is highly upregulated in CRC cells and regulates metastases formation. Targeting primate-specific transcripts such as FLANC may represent a novel and low toxic therapeutic strategy for the treatment of patients.
KW - angiogenesis
KW - colorectal cancer
KW - gene therapy
KW - molecular genetics
KW - oncogenes
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U2 - 10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318903
DO - 10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318903
M3 - Article
C2 - 31988194
AN - SCOPUS:85078936713
SN - 0017-5749
VL - 69
SP - 1818
EP - 1831
JO - Gut
JF - Gut
IS - 10
ER -