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lncSNHG16 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma development by inhibiting autophagy

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Abstract

Objective

To investigate the expression of long non-coding RNA lncSNHG16 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), associations between its expression and patient survival, and its potential role in regulating autophagy in the disease.

Methods

Expression of lncSNHG16 was measured using quantitative real-time PCR in HCC cells in culture and HCC tissues from patients. Effects of lncSNHG16 overexpression were examined in HCC cultures using assays of cell proliferation, wound healing, and migration or invasion in Transwell dishes. Effects of lncSNHG16 overexpression were also examined in subcutaneous tumor in mice. Relationships of lncSNHG16 expression to autophagy and apoptosis in HCC cultures were explored using western blotting and flow cytometry.

Results

Higher lncSNHG16 expression in HCC tissues was associated with significantly worse overall and recurrence-free survival of patients. Overexpressing lncSNHG16 in HCC cell culture promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion while suppressing apoptosis. lncSNHG16 was associated with upregulation of STAT3 as well as inhibition of autophagy and associated apoptosis. Overexpressing lncSNHG16 accelerated tumor growth and weight in mice.

Conclusion

The non-coding RNA lncSNHG16 suppresses autophagy and associated apoptosis in HCC, making it a potential therapeutic target.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

None.

Funding

This work was supported by the Guangxi key research and development plan (GuiKe AB24010082), the Specific Research Project of Guangxi for Research Bases and Talents (GuiKe AD22035057), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82060510 and 82260569), the Key Laboratory of Early Prevention and Treatment for Regional High Frequency Tumor (Guangxi Medical University), Ministry of Education (GKE-ZZ202217, GKE-ZZ202311), the Innovation Project of Guangxi Graduate Education (YCSW2022226), and First-class discipline innovation-driven talent program of Guangxi Medical University.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

JHZ conceived the study. All authors collected data, which ZJD analyzed. ZJD drafted the manuscript, which all authors critically revised and ultimately approved. JHZ accepts full responsibility for the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ping-Ping Guo or Jian-Hong Zhong.

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Conflicts of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical approval and Informed consent

This analysis of patient samples was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of the Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital (KY2020102), which waived the requirement for informed consent because patients, at the time of treatment, consented for their anonymized medical data to be analyzed and published for research purposes. All animal procedures were approved by the Animal Use and Care Committee of Guangxi Medical University (202103043).

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Deng, ZJ., Liu, HT., Yuan, BH. et al. lncSNHG16 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma development by inhibiting autophagy. Clin Transl Oncol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-024-03730-y

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