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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Author Spotlight: Establishing a Murine Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Model for Developing Nanoformulations of Anticancer Drugs
Published on: May 10, 2024
Long non-coding RNA DANCR promotes the progression of non-small-cell lung cancer by inhibiting p21 expression
Lanfang Guo1, Jianmei Gu2, Sinan Hou3
1Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, The Fourth People's Hospital of Zhenjiang, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China.
Background:
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in human cancers. However, the functional roles of lncRNAs in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the underlying mechanisms are not well understood.
Methods:
We examined the expression of lncRNA DANCR in NSCLC by qRT-PCR and explored its biological roles in NSCLC progression by cell and molecular biology studies.
Results:
DANCR expression level was increased in human NSCLC. The knockdown of DANCR inhibited NSCLC cell proliferation by inducing cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. In addition, DANCR knockdown suppressed NSCLC cell migration and invasion via inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). On the contrary, DANCR overexpression had the opposite effects. DANCR knockdown inhibited EZH-2-mediated epigenetic silencing of p21 promoter and increased p21 expression. Moreover, DANCR knockdown inhibited NSCLC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in a p21-dependent manner.
Conclusion:
DANCR plays oncogenic roles in NSCLC and may provide a novel biomarker for NSCLC diagnosis and prognosis.
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