Long non-coding RNA, HOTAIRM1, promotes glioma malignancy by forming a ceRNA network

Long non-coding RNAs play critical roles in tumorigenesis and the immune process. In this study, RNA sequencing data for 946 glioma samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas databases were analyzed to evaluate the prognostic value and function of homeobox A transcript antisense RNA myeloid-specific (HOTAIRM)1. HOTAIRM1 expression was associated with clinical and molecular features of glioma: patients with high HOTAIRM1 expression were more likely to be classified as malignant cases, and elevated HOTAIRM1 level was associated with shorter survival time in subgroups stratified by clinical and molecular features. A multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that HOTAIRM1 was an independent prognostic factor for patient outcome. In vitro experiments revealed that HOTAIRM1 knockdown suppressed the malignant behavior of glioma and increased tumor sensitivity to temozolomide. The results of an in silico analysis indicated that HOTAIRM1 promotes the malignancy of glioma by acting as a sponge for microRNA (miR)-129-5p and miR-495-3p. HOTAIRM1 overexpression was also associated with immune activation characterized by enhanced T cell-mediated immune and inflammatory responses. These results suggest that HOTAIRM1 is a prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target in glioma.