AFAP1-AS1 Promotes Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Tumorigenesis Through Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

• Published in: Frontiers in pharmacology Vol. 9; p. 1248
• Main Authors: Zhang, Kaiming, Liu, Peng, Tang, Hailin, Xie, Xiaoming, Kong, Yanan, Song, Cailu, Qiu, Xingsheng, Xiao, Xiangsheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 16.11.2018
• Subjects: AFAP1-AS1; epithelial-mesenchymal transition; long non-coding RNA; Pharmacology; triple-negative breast cancer; tumorigenesis; Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway; triple-negative breast cancer; epithelial-mesenchymal transition; long non-coding RNA; tumorigenesis; Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway; AFAP1-AS1
• ISSN: 1663-9812; 1663-9812
• DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2018.01248

Long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) actin filament-associated protein1-antisense RNA 1 (AFAP1-AS1) is overexpressed in various types of cancers and plays an important role in tumor progression and prognosis. This study investigates the role of AFAP1-AS1 in tumor progression in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). We found that AFAP1-AS1 was overexpressed in TNBC tissues and cells. Overexpression of LncRNA AFAP1-AS1 was associated with poor prognosis in TNBC patients. Moreover, we demonstrated that upregulation of AFAP1-AS1 promoted cell proliferation and invasion, and inhibited cell apoptosis , while overexpression of AFAP1-AS1 promoted tumor growth . Our results also revealed that upregulation of AFAP1-AS1 activated Wnt/β-catenin pathway to promote tumorigenesis and cell invasion by increasing the expression of C-myc and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related molecules in TNBC. Collectively, AFAP1-AS1 can be an independent prognostic marker and an effective therapeutic target of triple- negative breast cancer.