Upregulated long non-coding RNA BC032469 enhances carcinogenesis and metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma through regulating hTERT expression

Currently, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to have critical regulatory roles in various cancers. However, its role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains largely unknown. Here, we focused on lncRNA BC032469, one of the lncRNAs involved in the development of ESCC. The levels of a specific differentially expressed lncRNA (termed lncRNA-BC032469) were measured in 45 paired esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissue samples by quantitative real-time RT-PCR and then subjected to correlation analysis with clinical parameters and prognosis. The functions of lncRNA-BC032469 were evaluated by silencing and overexpressing the lncRNA in vitro and in vivo. The expression level of BC032469 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissues was higher than that in the corresponding non-cancerous tissues. High BC032469 levels were correlated with lymph node metastasis, TNM stage, and tumor size and lower overall survival. Knockdown of BC032469 in TE13 and Eca109 cells inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion; induced cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase; and promoted apoptosis. Western blot analysis revealed that BC032469 regulated the expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), which is important for cell proliferation and metastasis. Moreover, the restored expression of hTERT protein in BC032469-knockdown cells attenuated the suppressive effects of BC032469 on ESCC cells. Collectively, these results indicated that lncRNA-BC032469 is an oncogenic lncRNA that promotes tumor progression and leads us to propose that lncRNAs may serve as key regulatory hubs in ESCC development.