Abstract Accumulating studies highlight the critical role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the development of various human cancers. Extracellular leucine rich repeat and fibronectin type III domain containing 1-antisense RNA 1 (ELFN1-AS1) was shown to be a newly found lncRNA that abnormally expressed in human tumors. However, till now the specific function of this lncRNA in esophageal cancer (ESCA) remains unknown. In this study, we discovered that higher ELFN1-AS1 expression indicated shorter patient survival in pan-cancer, including ESCA, using online The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) tools. The lncRNA ELFN1-AS1 was significantly up-regulated in ESCA tissues and cell lines when compared with the counterparts. Down-regulation of ELFN1-AS1 restrained cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of ESCA in vitro. In addition, we found that the expression of microRNA-183-3p (miR-183-3p) and ELFN1-AS1 or glutamine-fructose-6-phosphate transaminase 1 (GFPT1) were inversely correlated in ESCA. Both ELFN1-AS1 and GFPT1 are direct targets of miR-183-3p in ESCA. The effects of ELFN1-AS1 knockdown on ESCA progression were partially rescued by inhibition of miR-183-3p or over-expression of GFPT1. In summary, the results of this study suggest that the lncRNA ELFN1-AS1 facilitates the progression of ESCA by acting as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to promote GFPT1 expression via sponging miR-183-3p.

中文翻译：

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LncRNA ELFN1-AS1通过海绵miR-183-3p上调GFPT1促进食管癌进展

摘要 越来越多的研究强调了长链非编码 RNA (lncRNA) 在各种人类癌症发展中的关键作用。细胞外富含亮氨酸的重复序列和包含 1-反义 RNA 1 (ELFN1-AS1) 的纤连蛋白 III 型结构域被证明是一种新发现的在人类肿瘤中异常表达的 lncRNA。然而，到目前为止，这种lncRNA在食管癌（ESCA）中的具体功能仍然未知。在这项研究中，我们使用在线癌症基因组图谱 (TCGA) 工具发现，较高的 ELFN1-AS1 表达表明包括 ESCA 在内的泛癌患者的生存期较短。与对应物相比，lncRNA ELFN1-AS1 在 ESCA 组织和细胞系中显着上调。ELFN1-AS1 的下调在体外抑制了 ESCA 的细胞增殖、迁移和侵袭。此外，我们发现 microRNA-183-3p (miR-183-3p) 和 ELFN1-AS1 或谷氨酰胺-果糖-6-磷酸转氨酶 1 (GFPT1) 在 ESCA 中的表达呈负相关。ELFN1-AS1 和GFPT1 都是ESCA 中miR-183-3p 的直接靶标。ELFN1-AS1 敲低对 ESCA 进展的影响通过抑制 miR-183-3p 或过表达 GFPT1 得到部分挽救。总之，这项研究的结果表明，lncRNA ELFN1-AS1 通过充当竞争性内源性 RNA (ceRNA) 通过海绵 miR-183-3p 促进 GFPT1 表达来促进 ESCA 的进展。ELFN1-AS1 敲低对 ESCA 进展的影响通过抑制 miR-183-3p 或过表达 GFPT1 得到部分挽救。总之，这项研究的结果表明，lncRNA ELFN1-AS1 通过充当竞争性内源性 RNA (ceRNA) 通过海绵 miR-183-3p 促进 GFPT1 表达来促进 ESCA 的进展。ELFN1-AS1 敲低对 ESCA 进展的影响通过抑制 miR-183-3p 或过表达 GFPT1 得到部分挽救。总之，这项研究的结果表明，lncRNA ELFN1-AS1 通过充当竞争性内源性 RNA (ceRNA) 通过海绵 miR-183-3p 促进 GFPT1 表达来促进 ESCA 的进展。