Epigenetic Regulation by lncRNAs: An Overview Focused on UCA1 in Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Colorectal cancers have become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. In particular, acquired chemoresistance and metastatic lesions occurring in colorectal cancer are a major challenge for chemotherapy treatment. Accumulating evidence shows that long non-coding (lncRNAs) are involved in the initiation, progression, and metastasis of cancer. We here discuss the epigenetic mechanisms through which lncRNAs regulate gene expression in cancer cells. In the second part of this review, we focus on the role of lncRNA Urothelial Cancer Associated 1 (UCA1) to integrate research in different types of cancer in order to decipher its putative function and mechanism of regulation in colorectal cancer cells. UCA1 is highly expressed in cancer cells and mediates transcriptional regulation on an epigenetic level through the interaction with chromatin modifiers, by direct regulation via chromatin looping and/or by sponging the action of a diversity of miRNAs. Furthermore, we discuss the role of UCA1 in the regulation of cell cycle progression and its relation to chemoresistance in colorectal cancer cells.

The Intricate Interplay between Epigenetic Events, Alternative Splicing and Noncoding RNA Deregulation in Colorectal Cancer

“…LncRNAs are often dysregulated in the pathological processes of CRC, functioning as oncogenes or tumour-suppressors [3,34,35,39]. For example, lncRNA DLEU1 promotes CRC cell proliferation and migration by recruiting SMARCA1, a subunit of the NURF chromatin remodelling complex, to the promoter of KPNA3, a gene whose expression is associated with a lower survival rate and poorer prognosis in CRC patients [40].…”

Screening of molecular targets and construction of a ceRNA network for oxaliplatin resistance in colorectal cancer

“…23 Recent evidence has highlighted the crucial regulatory roles of ceRNA networks in colorectal cancer. 24,25 Many studies have shown that multiple lncRNAs, such as CACS15, 26 KCNQ1OT1, 27 and BLACAT1, 28 and multiple miRNAs, such as miR-625-3p, 29 miR-34a, 30 miR-483-3p, 31 and miR-122, 32 are associated with oxaliplatin resistance. In this study, the ceRNA network was constructed based on RNA information obtained from bioinformatics analyses.…”

Distinct Circulating Expression Profiles of Long Noncoding RNAs in Heart Failure Patients With Ischemic and Nonischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy

“…Further results showed positive relationships in lncRNA expressions between tissues and plasmas in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (Wang et al, 2018) and colorectal cancer (Neve et al, 2018). Compared to the tissues, isolation of nucleic acids from plasma serves as an ideal method for early and differentiation diagnosis, evaluation the medication responses, and assessment of the prognosis.…”