Long Noncoding RNA Highly Up-regulated in Liver Cancer Predicts Unfavorable Outcome and Regulates Metastasis by MMPs in Triple-negative Breast Cancer

Background and Aims. Long noncoding RNA (1ncRNA) highly up -regulated in liver cancer (HULC) is the first identified lncRNA highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma and acts as an oncogenic 1ncRNA. However, the significance of HULC in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is still unclear. Our purpose is to explore the clinical significance and biological function of HULC in TNBC. Methods. Expression of HULC in TNBC tissues and cell lines was measured and the association between HULC expression and clinicopathological factors was analyzed. Cell proliferation, migration, and invasion assays were executed by using TNBC cell lines transfected with si-HULC or si-NC. The potential mechanism of HULC was explored by Western blot. Results. HULC expression was increased in TNBC tissues and cell lines and associated with malignant status and poor prognosis of TNBC patients. Furthermore, silencing TNBC expression effectively suppressed TNBC cells metastasis through MMP-2 and MMP-9. Conclusion. HULC acts as an oncogene lncRNA in TNBC and as an independent poor prognostic factor in TNBC patients. (C) 2016 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc.