The long noncoding RNA <i>lncPARP1</i> contributes to progression of hepatocellular carcinoma through up-regulation of PARP1

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for a large proportion of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. The functional impact of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in human cancer is not fully understood. Here, we identified a novel oncogenic lncRNA termed as <i>lncPARP1</i>, which was significantly up-regulated in HCC. Increase in <i>lncPARP1</i> expression was associated with age, α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, tumor size, recurrence, and poor prognosis of HCC patients. Loss-of-function approaches showed that knockdown of <i>lncPARP1</i> inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion, while induced apoptosis in HCC cells. Moreover, mechanistic investigation demonstrated that PARP1 was an underlying target of <i>lncPARP1</i> in HCC. In summary, we provide the first evidence that <i>lncPARP1</i> exerts an oncogene to promote HCC development and progression, at least in part, by affecting poly (ADP-ribose) (PAR) polymerase 1 (PARP1) expression.