Background: CDKN2B antisense RNA 1 (CDKN2B-AS1), a long noncoding RNA, was reported to play crucial roles in the progression of multiple cancers. However, the functional roles and regulatory mechanism of CDKN2B-AS1 in human laryngeal squamous cell cancer (LSCC) remain unclear. The goals of this study were to investigate biological roles and underlying mechanisms of CDKN2B-AS1 in LSCC.
Methods: The expressions of CDKN2B-AS1, miR-497 and cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) were detected in LSCC tissues and cell lines by real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). The effects of CDKN2B-AS1 on LSCC cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were examined by corresponding experiments. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase activity assay were applied to analyze the interaction between CDKN2B-AS1 and miR-497.
Results: The expression of CDKN2B-AS1 was significantly higher in LSCC tissues than in adjacent normal tissues. Higher CDKN2B-AS1 was closely associated with lymph node metastasis and advanced clinical stage. Moreover, CDKN2B-AS1 knockdown by siRNA significantly inhibited the proliferation, induced cell apoptosis, and suppressed migration and invasion in LSCC cells. Mechanically, CDKN2B functions as an oncogenic lncRNA in LSCC via regulating miR-497/CDK6 axis.
Conclusion: The observations in this study identify CDKN2B-AS1 an oncogenic role in the tumorigenesis of LSCC by regulating miR-497/CDK6 axis and indicate that it may serve as a potential target for LSCC treatment.
Keywords: laryngeal squamous cell cancer, long noncoding RNA, CDKN2B-AS1, CDK6, miR-497