Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 30, 2025

Induction and Diagnosis of Tumors in Drosophila Imaginal Disc Epithelia
08:14

Induction and Diagnosis of Tumors in Drosophila Imaginal Disc Epithelia

Published on: July 25, 2017

15.7K

Knockdown of long non-coding RNA AFAP1-AS1 inhibits growth and promotes apoptosis in pituitary adenomas

Hengxin Tang1, Bo Hou1, Zhuopeng Ye1

  • 1Department of Neurosurgery, Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Pathology
|January 16, 2020
PubMed

Insights

The long non-coding RNA AFAP1-AS1 is highly expressed in pituitary tumors. Reducing its levels inhibits tumor cell growth and promotes cell death, offering new therapeutic targets.

Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Oncology

Background:

  • Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate gene expression and are implicated in various cancers.
  • The role of AFAP antisense RNA 1 (AFAP1-AS1) in pituitary adenoma tumorigenesis is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the expression and biological function of AFAP1-AS1 in pituitary adenomas.
  • To elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying AFAP1-AS1's role in pituitary adenoma development.

Main Methods:

  • Quantitative real-time PCR to assess AFAP1-AS1 expression in pituitary adenoma tissues and adjacent normal tissues.
  • In vitro experiments involving knockdown of AFAP1-AS1 in pituitary adenoma cell lines (GH3 and MMQ).
  • Cell proliferation assays, cell cycle analysis, apoptosis assays, and Western blotting to analyze downstream signaling pathways (PTEN, PI3K, p-AKT).

Main Results:

  • AFAP1-AS1 expression was significantly upregulated in pituitary adenoma tissues compared to adjacent tissues.
  • Knockdown of AFAP1-AS1 suppressed proliferation, induced G1-to-S cell cycle arrest, and promoted apoptosis in pituitary adenoma cells.
  • AFAP1-AS1 knockdown led to increased PTEN expression and decreased PI3K/p-AKT signaling.

Conclusions:

  • AFAP1-AS1 plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of pituitary adenomas.
  • Targeting AFAP1-AS1 may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for pituitary adenomas by modulating the PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathway.
Keywords:
AFAP1-AS1Long non-coding RNAPTEN/PI3K/AKTpituitary adenoma

More Related Videos

The Soft Agar Colony Formation Assay08:01

The Soft Agar Colony Formation Assay

Published on: October 27, 2014

113.4K
Investigation of Genetic Dependencies Using CRISPR-Cas9-based Competition Assays11:05

Investigation of Genetic Dependencies Using CRISPR-Cas9-based Competition Assays

Published on: January 7, 2019

9.9K

Related Concept Videos

Experimental RNAi02:15

Experimental RNAi

RNA interference (RNAi) is a cellular mechanism that inhibits gene expression by suppressing its transcription or activating the RNA degradation process. The mechanism was discovered by Andrew Fire and Craig Mello in 1998 in plants. Today, it is observed in almost all eukaryotes, including protozoa, flies, nematodes, insects, parasites, and mammals. This precise cellular mechanism of gene silencing has been developed into a technique that provides an efficient way to identify and determine the...
7.2K
Abnormal Proliferation02:23

Abnormal Proliferation

Under normal conditions, most adult cells remain in a non-proliferative state unless stimulated by internal or external factors to replace lost cells. Abnormal cell proliferation is a condition in which the cell's growth exceeds and is uncoordinated with normal cells. In such situations, cell division persists in the same excessive manner even after cessation of the stimuli, leading to persistent tumors. The tumor arises from the damaged cells that replicate to pass the damage to the...
5.0K
PI3K/mTOR/AKT Signaling Pathway01:22

PI3K/mTOR/AKT Signaling Pathway

The mammalian target of rapamycin  (mTOR) is a serine/threonine kinase that regulates growth, proliferation, and cell survival in response to hormones, growth factors, or nutrient availability. This kinase exists in two structurally and functionally distinct forms: mTOR complex 1  (mTORC1) and mTOR complex 2  (mTORC2). The first form (mTORC1) is composed of a rapamycin-sensitive Raptor and proline-rich Akt substrate, PRAS40. In contrast,  mTORC2 consists of a...
5.1K
lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs02:39

lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs

In humans, more than 80% of the genome gets transcribed. However, only around 2% of the genome codes for proteins. The remaining part produces non-coding RNAs which includes ribosomal RNAs, transfer RNAs, telomerase RNAs, and regulatory RNAs, among other types. A large number of regulatory non-coding RNAs have been classified into two groups depending upon their length – small non-coding RNAs, such as microRNA, which are less than 200 nucleotides in length, and long non-coding RNA...
9.6K
siRNA - Small Interfering RNAs02:30

siRNA - Small Interfering RNAs

Small interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, are short regulatory RNA molecules that can silence genes post-transcriptionally, as well as the transcriptional level in some cases. siRNAs are important for protecting cells against viral infections and silencing transposable genetic elements.
In the cytoplasm, siRNA is processed from a double-stranded RNA, which comes from either endogenous DNA transcription or exogenous sources like a virus. This double-stranded RNA is then cleaved by the...
18.2K