Long non-coding RNA ASAP1-IT1 suppresses ovarian cancer progression by regulating Hippo/YAP signaling

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of non-protein coding transcripts that are involved in the regulation of gene expression in mammalian cells. Transcriptional co-activator Yes associated protein 1 (YAP1) plays a key role in the progression of ovarian cancer. However, the regulation of Hippo/YAP signaling in ovarian cancer remains elusive. In the present study, the expression levels of lncRNA ASAP1-IT1 were investigated. The analysis indicated that lncRNA ASAP1-IT1 expression was downregulated in ovarian tumor samples and ovarian cancer cells. The overexpression of ASAP1-IT1 inhibited ovarian cancer cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that miR-2278, a previously reported upregulated miRNA in ovarian tumors, may bind to ASAP1-IT1. Dual luciferase assay confirmed the direct regulatory association between ASAP1-IT1 and miR-2278. In addition, the data demonstrated that large tumor suppressor 2 (LATS2) was a target gene of miR-2278, whose expression was upregulated by ASAP1-IT1 in ovarian cancer cells. By regulating the expression of LATS2, ASAP1-IT1 induced the downregulation of YAP1 expression in ovarian cancer cells. Moreover, the silencing of LATS2 attenuated the inhibition of cell proliferation and the apoptosis induced by ASAP1-IT1 overexpression in ovarian cancer cells. The association among the expression levels of ASAP1-IT1, miR-2278 and LATS2 was observed in specimens obtained from patients with ovarian cancer. Taken together, the data presented herein demonstrate that ASAP1-IT1 functions as a potential tumor suppressor lncRNA by upregulating LATS2 expression in ovarian cancer.

Automated summary

The study revealed that ASAP1-IT1 expression was downregulated in ovarian tumor samples and cells, with its overexpression inhibiting ovarian cancer cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. ASAP1-IT1 plays a role in upregulating LATS2 expression, which in turn affects the expression of YAP1 in ovarian cancer cells. These findings suggest that ASAP1-IT1 functions as a potential tumor suppressor lncRNA in ovarian cancer.