LTCONS_00014107-miR-29b-2-3p-GPR37 axis promotes heat stimulation induced esophageal carcinogenesis

Esophageal cancer is a common malignant tumor of the digestive system, and Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the major histological subtype of esophageal cancer. Multiple epidemiological evidence shows that consumption of hot temperature food and beverages is an important risk factor for developing ESCC, however, its underlying mechanism remains unclear. Herein, we constructed an animal model of esophageal precancerous lesions induced by heat stimulation in rats and simulated the human habit of eating hot food and drinks. Both LncRNA and miRNA expression of esophageal tissues were profiled by RNA-seq. We found LTCONS_00014107 was lowly expressed but miR-29b-2-3p was highly expressed in heat-induced ESCC and degradation of LTCONS_00014107 promoted the expression of miR-29b-2-3p since it is speculated that LTCONS_00014107 could be a precursor of miR-29b-2-3p. The functional study showed that knockdown miR-29b-2-3p could inhibit ESCC cell proliferation, whereas overexpression of miR-29b-2-3p could promote ESCC progression. Finally, through data analysis from the publicly available databases followed by verification using Dual-Luciferase assay, we found GPR37 could bind with miR-29b-2-3p and may be a potential target of miR-29b-2-3p. Overall, our research showed the function of LTCONS_00014107 in heat-induced ESCC and provided a theoretical and experimental basis of LTCONS_00014107-miR-29b-2-3p-GPR37 axis as the potential and therapeutic targets in ESCC.