Dysregulation of long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been implicated in many cancer developments. Previous studies showed that lncRNA LINC00941 was aberrantly expressed in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, its role in OSCC development remains elusive. In this study, we demonstrated that in OSCC cells, EP300 activates LINC00941 transcription through up‐regulating its promoter H3K27ac modification. Up‐regulated LINC00941 in turn activates CAPRIN2 expression by looping to CAPRIN2 promoter. Functional assays suggest that both LINC00941 and CAPRIN2 play pivotal roles in promoting OSCC cell proliferation and colony formation. In vivo assay further confirmed the role of LINC00941 in promoting OSCC cell tumour formation. Lastly, we showed that the role of LINC00941 and CAPRIN2 in OSCC progression was mediated through activating the canonical WNT/β‐catenin signaling pathway. Thus, LINC00941/CAPRIN2/ WNT/β‐catenin signaling pathway provides new therapeutic targets for OSCC treatment.

中文翻译：

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LINC00941 通过激活 CAPRIN2 和经典 WNT/β-catenin 信号通路促进口腔鳞状细胞癌进展。


长链非编码 RNA (lncRNA) 的失调与许多癌症的发展有关。先前的研究表明lncRNA LINC00941在口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）中异常表达。然而，它在 OSCC 发展中的作用仍然难以捉摸。在这项研究中，我们证明在 OSCC 细胞中，EP300 通过上调其启动子 H3K27ac 修饰来激活 LINC00941 转录。上调的 LINC00941 进而通过环化至 CAPRIN2 启动子来激活 CAPRIN2 表达。功能分析表明，LINC00941 和 CAPRIN2 在促进 OSCC 细胞增殖和集落形成中发挥着关键作用。体内实验进一步证实了LINC00941在促进OSCC细胞肿瘤形成中的作用。最后，我们发现 LINC00941 和 CAPRIN2 在 OSCC 进展中的作用是通过激活经典 WNT/β-catenin 信号通路介导的。因此，LINC00941/CAPRIN2/WNT/β-catenin信号通路为OSCC治疗提供了新的治疗靶点。