GeneFeb 26, 2019

Detailed study of abnormal RNA molecules and their interaction networks in esophageal squamous cell cancer

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Apr 6, 2026

Abstract

A total of 95 lncRNAs, 9 miRNAs, and 40 mRNAs were identified in a ceRNA network associated with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) may play a significant role in the regulation of gene expression in ESCC.
Three specific lncRNAs (IGF2-AS, MUC2, and SOX2-OT) are significantly associated with overall survival in patients with ESCC.
Knockdown of the lncRNA DLX6-AS1 was observed to inhibit the proliferation and invasion of esophageal cancer cells.
The inhibition of cancer cell growth and spread was linked to the enhancement of the mTOR pathway's function.

Simplified

Mounting evidence suggests that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in tumor biology. To date, some lncRNAs have been found to be involved in competitive binding of miRNAs, a major group of competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs), through participation in a regulatory network of protein-coding gene expression. However, the functional roles of lncRNA-mediated ceRNAs in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) have rarely been reported. Here, we construct a hypothetical ceRNA network by analyzing differential expression of lncRNAs, miRNAs and mRNAs obtained from 96 ESCC tissues and 13 normal tissues in the Cancer Genome Atlas. Ultimately, 95 lncRNAs, 9 miRNAs, and 40 mRNAs were identified (fold change >1.5, P < .05) and included in the ceRNA network for ESCC. Moreover, three lncRNAs (IGF2-AS, MUC2 and SOX2-OT) were found to be significantly associated with overall survival (log-rank test, P < .05), and further experiments revealed that lncRNA DLX6-AS1 knockdown inhibited the proliferation and invasion of esophageal cancer cells by enhancing the endogenous function of mTOR. We believe that the identified ceRNA network can facilitate a better understanding of lncRNA-related mechanisms in ESCC.

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Detailed study of abnormal RNA molecules and their interaction networks in esophageal squamous cell cancer

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