The noncoding function of NELFA mRNA promotes the development of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma by regulating the Rad17-RFC2-5 complex.

Recently, RNAs interacting with proteins have been implicated in playing an important role in the occurrence and progression of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In this study, we found that NELFA mRNA interacts with Rad17 through a novel noncoding mode in the nucleus and that the aberrant expression of USF2 contributed to the upregulation of Rad17 and NELFA. Subsequent experiments demonstrated that the deletion of NELFA mRNA significantly decreased ESCC proliferation and colony formation in vitro. Moreover, NELFA mRNA knockdown inhibited DNA damage repair and promoted apoptosis. Mechanistic studies indicated that NELFA mRNA regulated the interaction between Rad17 and RFC2-5, which had a major impact on the phosphorylation of CHK1, CHK2 and BRCA1. NELFA mRNA expression was consistently elevated in ESCC patients and closely related to decreased overall survival. Taken together, our results confirmed the critical role of the noncoding function of NELFA mRNA in ESCC tumorigenesis and indicated that NELFA mRNA can be regarded as a therapeutic target and an independent prognostic indicator in ESCC patients.