The roles of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) MCF2L-AS1 have been identified in colorectal cancer, however, its roles in lung cancer progression have never been revealed. Here, we found that lncRNA MCF2L-AS1 was highly expressed in lung cancer tissues and cells, especially in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Functional experiments showed that MCF2L-AS1 knockdown suppressed the cancer stem cell (CSC)-like traits of NSCLC cells through qRT-PCR, western blot, tumor-sphere formation, and ALDH activity detection. Additionally, bioinformatic assay combined with RNA pull down and luciferase reporter analysis confirmed that MCF2L-AS1 downregulated miR-873-5p level. Furthermore, miR-873-5p expression exhibited a lower level in lung cancer tissues and cells, and a negative correlation with MCF2L-AS1 expression in lung cancer tissues. Moreover, miR-873-5p inhibition partially reversed the suppression of MCF2L-AS1 on the CSC-like traits on NSCLC cells. Thus, this work identifies a novel MCF2L-AS1/miR-873-5p regulatory axis responsible for the CSC-like traits of NSCLC cells.

中文翻译：

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长链非编码RNA MCF2L-AS1通过调节miR-873-5p水平促进非小细胞肺癌细胞的癌干细胞样性状

长链非编码 RNA (lncRNA) MCF2L-AS1 在结直肠癌中的作用已被确定，但其在肺癌进展中的作用从未被揭示。在这里，我们发现lncRNA MCF2L-AS1在肺癌组织和细胞中高表达，尤其是在非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）中。功能实验表明，MCF2L-AS1 敲低通过 qRT-PCR、蛋白质印迹、肿瘤球形成和 ALDH 活性检测抑制了 NSCLC 细胞的癌症干细胞 (CSC) 样特征。此外，生物信息学分析结合 RNA 下拉和荧光素酶报告分析证实 MCF2L-AS1 下调 miR-873-5p 水平。此外，miR-873-5p在肺癌组织和细胞中的表达水平较低，与肺癌组织中MCF2L-AS1的表达呈负相关。而且，miR-873-5p 抑制部分逆转了 MCF2L-AS1 对 NSCLC 细胞上 CSC 样性状的抑制。因此，这项工作确定了一种新的 MCF2L-AS1/miR-873-5p 调节轴，负责 NSCLC 细胞的 CSC 样特征。