Regulatory effects of noncoding RNAs on the interplay of oxidative stress and autophagy in cancer malignancy and therapy

ABSTR A C T Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) regulation of various diseases including cancer has been extensively studied. Reactive oxidative species (ROS) elevated by oxidative stress are associated with cancer progression and drug resistance, while autophagy serves as an ROS scavenger in cancer cells. However, the regulatory effects of ncRNAs on autophagy and ROS in various cancer cells remains complex. Here, we explore how currently investigated ncRNAs, mainly miRNAs and lncRNAs, are involved in ROS production through modulating antioxidant genes. The regulatory effects of miRNAs and lncRNAs on autophagy-related (ATG) proteins to control autophagy ac-tivity in cancer cells are discussed. Moreover, differential expression of ncRNAs in tumor and normal tissues of cancer patients are further analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. This review hypothesizes links between ATG genes-or antioxidant genes-modulated ncRNAs and ROS production, which might result in tumorigenesis, malignancy, and cancer recurrence. A better understanding of the regulation of ROS and auto-phagy by ncRNAs might advance the use of ncRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic markers as well as therapeutic targets in cancer therapy.

Automated summary

This article reviews the regulatory effects of ncRNAs on ROS and autophagy in cancer, analyzes their modulation effects on antioxidant genes and ATG genes, and analyzes the differential expression of ncRNAs in tumors and normal tissues of cancer patients using the TCGA database.