Emerging evidence demonstrates that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are deeply involved in the development of various cancers. This study identified that SBF2-AS1， an early-stage-specific lncRNA， is critical for the tumorigenesis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). We first analyzed LUAD transcriptome data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the GEO database by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Five early LUAD-specific lncRNAs were filtered out， and only SBF2-AS1 was upregulated in LUAD. High expression of SBF2-AS1 indicates poor survival of LUAD， especially the early-stage LUAD， but not lung squamous cell carcinoma. SBF2-AS1 promotes LUAD cells proliferation in?vitro， and RNA-sequencing ... More
Emerging evidence demonstrates that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are deeply involved in the development of various cancers. This study identified that SBF2-AS1， an early-stage-specific lncRNA， is critical for the tumorigenesis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). We first analyzed LUAD transcriptome data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the GEO database by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Five early LUAD-specific lncRNAs were filtered out， and only SBF2-AS1 was upregulated in LUAD. High expression of SBF2-AS1 indicates poor survival of LUAD， especially the early-stage LUAD， but not lung squamous cell carcinoma. SBF2-AS1 promotes LUAD cells proliferation in?vitro， and RNA-sequencing data shows that many cell-cycle-related genes were downregulated after SBF2-AS1 knockdown. Mechanically， SBF2-AS1 could competitively bind with miR-338-3p and miR-362-3p to increase E2F1 expression. Finally， we show that the SBF2-AS1-miR-338-3p/362-3p-E2F1 axis could promote LUAD tumorigenesis in?vitro and in?vivo. Our study?demonstrates that SBF2-AS1， an early-stage-specific lncRNA， promotes LUAD tumorigenesis by sponging miR-338-3p and miR-362-3p and increasing E2F1 expression. The SBF2-AS1-miR-338-3p/362-3p-E2F1 regulatory axis may serve as a prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target for LUAD.
