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Expression and Regulatory Roles of Small Nucleolar RNA Host Gene 4 in Gastric Cancer
Navid Pourghasem1, Shadi Ghorbanzadeh1, Azim Nejatizadeh1,2
1Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Aims:
The role of SNHG4 in the initiation and development of gastric cancer.
Background:
Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. Studies have shown that lncRNAs have a regulatory function in human diseases, particularly cancers. Small nuclear RNA host gene 4 (SNHG4) has been known as an oncogenic long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) in various cancers, and its dysregulation can lead to tumorigenesis and cancer progression.
Objective:
Alteration of SNHG4 expression in gastric cancer and its correlation with clinical features of patients with stomach cancer; also, the accomplishment of bioinformatic analysis to find the potential pathways which could be impressed by changes in SNHG4 RNA expression.
Methods:
The present study aims to determine the molecular mechanism of SNHG4 and the effects of its expression on the development of GC. Based on the bioinformatics investigations, we studied gene expression analysis, Kaplan-Meier survival, Gene ontology (GO), KEGG pathway enrichment, microRNA targets, transcription factor targets, and proteins interacting with SNHG4. During the experimental phase, SNHG4 expression was examined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRTPCR) in 40 paired gastric adenocarcinoma tissues and normal neighboring tissues. Also, we investigated the correlation between SNHG4 expression and patients' clinicopathological characteristics.
Results:
Increased SNHG4 expression was detected in GC tissues, which is significantly associated with the TNM stage, grade group, tumor size, and metastatic status. Evaluation survival analysis demonstrated that overexpression of SNHG4 in GC tissues is remarkably related to poor overall survival (OS). SNHG4 is closely related to miR-490 and E2F family transcription factors. GO analysis suggested the possible role of SNHG4 in cell-cell adhesion, and KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that SNHG4 could be associated with the gastric cancer signaling pathway. ELAVL1 and IGF2BP2 have the highest number of SNHG4 target sites, and these proteins are involved in the PI3K-Akt-mTOR and ERK-MAPK signaling pathways.
Conclusion:
Based on our results, we conclude that SNHG4 may have a function in GC development by regulating tumor-related signaling pathways.
Insights
Small nuclear RNA host gene 4 (SNHG4) is upregulated in gastric cancer, correlating with advanced disease and poor survival. SNHG4 may drive gastric cancer progression through tumor-related signaling pathways.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Gastric cancer (GC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality globally.
- Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play crucial roles in disease pathogenesis, especially in cancers.
- Small nuclear RNA host gene 4 (SNHG4) is an oncogenic lncRNA implicated in tumorigenesis and cancer progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of SNHG4 in gastric cancer initiation and development.
- To analyze SNHG4 expression alterations in GC and their correlation with clinical features.
- To identify potential pathways influenced by SNHG4 dysregulation using bioinformatics.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative real-time PCR (qRTPCR) to measure SNHG4 expression in 40 paired GC and normal tissues.
- Bioinformatic analyses including gene expression, survival analysis, Gene Ontology (GO), KEGG pathway enrichment, and target prediction (miRNA, transcription factors, protein interactions).
- Correlation analysis between SNHG4 expression and clinicopathological characteristics.
Main Results:
- SNHG4 expression is significantly increased in GC tissues and associated with TNM stage, grade group, tumor size, and metastasis.
- Overexpression of SNHG4 correlates with poor overall survival in GC patients.
- SNHG4 interacts with miR-490 and E2F transcription factors, potentially influencing cell-cell adhesion and gastric cancer signaling pathways via PI3K-Akt-mTOR and ERK-MAPK pathways.
Conclusions:
- SNHG4 plays a significant role in gastric cancer development.
- SNHG4 may promote GC progression by modulating critical tumor-related signaling pathways.
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