Preeclampsia-associated lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis in placental trophoblast cells through the ELAVL1/NOC2L axis

BackgroundLncRNAs have been shown to be involved in and control the biological processes of multiple diseases, including preeclampsia (PE). The impairment of trophoblast cell proliferation is recognized as a significant anomaly contributing to the development of PE. LncRNA FEZF1-AS1 was found downregulated in placental tissues of PE patients. However, the precise regulatory mechanism of FEZF1-AS1 in placental trophoblast proliferation and apoptosis remains unclear.ResultsIn this study, we conducted an investigation into the expression levels of FEZF1-AS1 and NOC2L in placental tissues obtained from patients diagnosed with PE. Subsequently, we employed CCK-8 and EdU assays to quantify cell proliferation, while TUNEL staining and western blot for apoptosis-related protein detection to assess apoptosis. Furthermore, the interactions between FEZF1-AS1 and ELAVL1, as well as NOC2L and ELAVL1, were confirmed through the implementation of RIP and RNA pull-down assays. We found a downregulation of lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 and NOC2L in placental tissues of PE patients. Overexpression of FEZF1-AS1 or NOC2L resulted in increased cell proliferation and inhibition of apoptosis, whereas knockdown of FEZF1-AS1 or NOC2L had the opposite effect. In addition, lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 stabilized NOC2L mRNA expression by interacting with ELAVL1. Moreover, partial reversal of the effects of FEZF1-AS1 overexpression on cell proliferation and apoptosis was observed upon suppression of ELAVL1 or NOC2L.ConclusionsPE related lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 could regulate apoptosis and proliferation of placental trophoblast cells through the ELAVL1/NOC2L axis. LncRNA FEZF1-AS1 and NOC2L modulates the proliferation and apoptosis of trophoblast cells.FEZF1-AS1 stabilizes the mRNA stability of NOC2L by interacting with ELAVL1.FEZF1-AS1/ELAVL1/NOC2L axis regulates trophoblast cell proliferation and apoptosis.

Automated summary

In this study, the downregulation of FEZF1-AS1 and NOC2L in placental tissues of PE patients was observed. Overexpression of FEZF1-AS1 or NOC2L promoted cell proliferation and inhibited apoptosis, while knockdown of FEZF1-AS1 or NOC2L had the opposite effect. Furthermore, FEZF1-AS1 was found to stabilize NOC2L mRNA expression by interacting with ELAVL1. This study demonstrates that PE-related FEZF1-AS1 regulates trophoblast cell proliferation and apoptosis through the ELAVL1/NOC2L axis.