Novel lncRNA AL033381.2 Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression by Upregulating PRKRA Expression

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumor that is characterized by aggressiveness and poor prognosis. Accumulating evidence indicates that oxidative stress plays a crucial role in carcinogenesis, whereas the potential mechanism between oxidative stress and carcinogenic effects remains elusive. In recent years, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancers have attracted extensive attention and have been shown to be involved in oxidative stress response and carcinogenesis. Nevertheless, the roles of lncRNA AL033381.2 in regulating the development and progression of HCC still remain unclear. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the potential effects and molecular mechanisms of AL033381.2 that may be involved in oxidative stress response in HCC. Using bioinformatics analyses based on the TCGA database, we screened and identified a novel lncRNA AL033381.2 in HCC, which may be involved in oxidative stress responses. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that AL033381.2 is upregulated in HCC tissues. Through in vitro and in vivo experiments, we found that AL033381.2 dramatically facilitates the growth and metastasis of HCC. Mechanistically, RNA pull-down experiments, mass spectrometry, PathArray™, and RIP were used to determine that AL033381.2 binds to PRKRA and may be involved in AL033381.2-mediated oncogenic functions in HCC cells. Moreover, rescue experiments demonstrated that PRKRA overexpression rescues the abilities of HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion that were affected by AL033381.2 knockdown. Furthermore, we produced a nanoparticle-based siRNA delivery system and tested its therapeutic effects in vivo. The results showed that the in vivo growth rate of the tumors treated with the nanoparticle/AL033381.2 siRNA complexes was dramatically lower than those treated with the nanoparticle/scramble siRNA complexes. Taken together, our results suggest that the novel lncRNA AL033381.2 may be involved in oxidative stress response by targeting oxidative stress-related genes in HCC. AL033381.2 plays vital oncogenic roles in HCC progression and may be a novel therapeutic marker for HCC diagnosis and treatment.