LncRNA PART1 promotes malignant biological behaviors associated with head and neck cancer cells by synergistic action with FUT6

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the role of lncRNA PART1 in migration, proliferation, and apoptosis in head and neck cancer (HNC) cell lines and its relationship with FUT6 in tumorigenesis and progression. Bioinformatics analysis and qRT‒PCR showed that lncRNA PART1 was expressed at low levels in HNC. The results of proliferation, apoptosis, migration and flow cytometry showed that the low expression of lncRNA PART1 inhibited the apoptosis of HN4 cells and promoted the migration and proliferation of HN4 cells. Through bioinformatics analysis, FUT6 was found to be expressed at low levels in HNC and correlated with patient survival. Immunohistochemical, qRT-PCR results showed that FUT6 was underexpressed in tumor tissues and HN4 cells. Cell and animal experiments showed that overexpression of FUT6 could inhibit tumor proliferation and migration. Bioinformatics analysis showed that lncRNA PART1 was positively correlated with FUT6. By qRT‒PCR, we observed that after knockdown of lncRNA PART1, both the mRNA and protein expression levels of FUT6 were reduced. The above results indicated that lncRNA PART1 and FUT6 were poorly expressed in HNC and that lncRNA PART1 affected the development of cancer by interacting with FUT6.