Conclusion
Taken together, these results suggest that MALAT1 plays an oncogenic role in NED and metastasis of PC via the miR-216a-5p/ZFP91/FOXA1 pathway. Our study highlights the potential of targeting this pathway as a novel therapeutic strategy for PC.
Methods
In this study, we used transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis to identify key regulators of NED in PC. Specifically, we examined the expression of PC-related lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs in PC cells and correlated these findings with NED phenotypes.
Results
Our data revealed that metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) and zinc finger protein 91 (ZFP91) were upregulated in PC, while miR-216a-5p was down-regulated. Ectopic expression of MALAT1 induced NED and promoted malignant phenotypes of PC cells. Furthermore, we found that MALAT1 competitively bound to miR-216a-5p, upregulated ZFP91, and promoted the degradation of forkhead box A1 (FOXA1), a key gene involved in NED of PC.