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Long noncoding RNA HOTAIR involvement in cancer

Yansheng Wu1, Li Zhang, Yang Wang

  • 1Department of Maxillofacial and Otorhinolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.

Tumour Biology : the Journal of the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine
|August 30, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) like HOTAIR are crucial in cancer epigenetics. HOTAIR promotes cancer metastasis and progression, making it a potential therapeutic target.

Area of Science:

  • Epigenetics
  • Molecular Biology
  • Oncology

Background:

  • Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are increasingly recognized for their roles in epigenetic regulation.
  • HOX transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR) is a specific long intergenic noncoding RNA (lincRNA) implicated in cancer development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the role of HOTAIR in epigenetic gene silencing and cancer metastasis.
  • To highlight HOTAIR as a potential therapeutic target in oncology.

Main Methods:

  • Investigating HOTAIR's function as a molecular scaffold linking PRC2 and LSD1 histone modification complexes.
  • Analyzing the reprogramming of chromatin states via coupled histone modifications (H3K27 methylation and H3K4 demethylation).

Main Results:

  • HOTAIR acts as a scaffold, linking PRC2 and LSD1 to mediate epigenetic gene silencing.
  • Overexpression of HOTAIR is pervasive in solid cancers, correlating with invasion, progression, metastasis, and poor prognosis.

Conclusions:

  • HOTAIR functions as an oncogene by promoting cancer metastasis through epigenetic reprogramming.
  • HOTAIR represents a promising novel therapeutic target for various cancers.

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