Role of RNA and lnc-EGFR in hepatocellular carcinoma immune evasion

Abstract

Abstract: Objective To investigate the role of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and long non-coding RNA of epidermal growth factor receptor (lnc-EGFR) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) immune evasion. Methods A total of 30 HCC specimens and 30 normal adjacent tissues collected in our hospital from January 2017 to January 2019 were randomly selected. The expression levels of RNA and lnc-EGFR in tissues were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and the expression of chemical factors and cellular immune factors in HCC tissues were detected by Western blot. HCC cell lines were randomly divided into 2 groups: RNA/lnc-EGFR inhibition group (n=15) and blank control group (n=15). The 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay was used to detect cell proliferation, and flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis and cell cycle distribution. Results The expression levels of RNA and lnc-EGFR in adjacent normal tissues (0.46 ± 0.12, 0.62 ± 0.15) were lower than those in HCC tissues (0.22 ± 0.06, 0.14 ± 0.05) (P<0.05). The expression level of C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12)-C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) in HCC tissues was lower than that in adjacent normal tissues (P<0.05). The expression levels of C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20)-C-C motif chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6) and C?X3?C motif chemokine ligand 1 (CX3CL1)-C?X3?C motif chemokine receptor 1 (CX3CR1) in HCC tissues were higher than those in adjacent normal tissues (P<0.05). The expression levels of cellular immune factors including interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in HCC tissues were higher than those in adjacent normal tissues (P<0.05). The expression levels of RNA and lnc-EGFR were significantly negatively correlated with CXCL12-CXCR4 (P<0.05), and significantly positively correlated with CCL20-CCR6, CX3CL1-CX3CR1, IL-6, IL-10, TGF-β and TNF-α (P<0.05); The relative absorbance, apoptosis rate and cell cycle ratio of HCC and adjacent normal tissues were statistically different (P<0.05). Conclusion RNA and lnc-EGFR are highly expressed in HCC tissues, and can upregulate immune evasion of cancer cells by up-regulating the levels of chemical factors and cellular immune factors in tissues, which has a significant correlation with HCC immune evasion regulation.

Key words: Ribonucleic acid, long non-coding ribonucleic acid of epidermal growth factor receptor, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Immune evasion, Correlation

WEi Yuan-yuan, TIAN Yan-hong, Li Hong-jing, ZHANG Hao, LI Mu-song. Role of RNA and lnc-EGFR in hepatocellular carcinoma immune evasion[J]. Chinese Hepatolgy, 2020, 25(2): 142-145.

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