Functional role of lncRNA LOC101927497 in N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine-induced malignantly transformed human gastric epithelial cells

Aims: Evidence shows that aberrant expression of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is closely associated with tumor development and progression. However, the role of lncRNA in environmental carcinogen induced gastric tumorigenesis remains largely unknown. This study aimed at investigating the function role of lncRNA in N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) induce malignantly transformed human gastric epithelial cells. Main methods: In this study, high-throughput sequencing and qRT-PCR assay revealed marked downregulation of lncRNA LOC101927497 in the malignant transformed gastric epithelial cells induced by MNNG (GES-1-T cells), gain-of-function and loss-of-function assays showed that LOC101927497 can suppress the proliferation and migration of GES-1-T cells in vitro. RNA antisense purification experiment showed that LOC101927497 interacted with miR-574-5p in GES-1-T cells the most obvious. Further studies suggested that LOC101927497 may function as a tumor suppressor by interacting with miR-574-5p. Key findings: LncRNA LOC101927497 functions as a suppressor by interacting with miR-574-5p, thus inhibiting the malignant phenotype of GES-1-T cells. Significance: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the role of lncRNA in MNNG-induced gastric tumorigenesis, and it will provide new insights into the role of lncRNA in environmental carcinogen-induced gastric cancer.