EZH2-mediated epigenetic suppression of long noncoding RNA SPRY4-IT1 promotes NSCLC cell proliferation and metastasis by affecting the epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Cell Death Dis. 2014 Jun 26;5(6):e1298. doi: 10.1038/cddis.2014.256.

Abstract

Recent evidence indicates that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have a critical role in the regulation of cellular processes such as differentiation, proliferation, and metastasis. These lncRNAs are dysregulated in a variety of cancers and many function as tumor suppressors; however, the regulatory factors involved in silencing lncRNA transcription are poorly understood. In this study, we showed that epigenetic silencing of lncRNA SPRY4 intronic transcript 1 (SPRY4-IT1) occurs in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells through direct transcriptional repression mediated by the Polycomb group protein enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2). SPRY4-IT1 is derived from an intron within SPRY4, and is upregulated in melanoma cells; knockdown of its expression leads to cell growth arrest, invasion inhibition, and elevated rates of apoptosis. Upon depletion of EZH2 by RNA interference, SPRY4-IT1 expression was restored, and transfection of SPRY4-IT1 into NSCLC cells resulted in a significant antitumoral effect, both in culture and in xenografted nude mice. Moreover, overexpression of SPRY4-IT1 was found to have a key role in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition through the regulation of E-cadherin and vimentin expression. In EZH2-knockdown cells, which characteristically showed impaired cell proliferation and metastasis, the induction of SPRY4-IT1 depletion partially rescued the oncogenic phenotype, suggesting that SPRY4-IT1 repression has an important role in EZH2 oncogenesis. Of most relevance, translation of these findings into human NSCLC tissue samples demonstrated that patients with low levels of SPRY4-IT1 expression had a shorter overall survival time, suggesting that SPRY4-IT1 could be a biomarker for poor prognosis of NSCLC.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / diagnosis
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / genetics
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / metabolism*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / pathology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation*
  • Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protein
  • Epigenesis, Genetic*
  • Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition*
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic*
  • Humans
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins*
  • Introns
  • Lung Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Lung Neoplasms / genetics
  • Lung Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Lung Neoplasms / pathology
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Nude
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Neoplasm Proteins / genetics
  • Neoplasm Proteins / metabolism*
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins*
  • Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 / genetics
  • Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 / metabolism*
  • Prognosis
  • RNA, Long Noncoding / biosynthesis*
  • RNA, Long Noncoding / genetics
  • RNA, Neoplasm / biosynthesis*
  • RNA, Neoplasm / genetics

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • RNA, Long Noncoding
  • RNA, Neoplasm
  • SPRY4 protein, human
  • EZH2 protein, human
  • Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protein
  • Polycomb Repressive Complex 2