SBF2-AS1 was up-regulated in GBM tissues and cell lines and was correlated with tumor progression and poor survival in GBM patients.
The online system GEPIA (http://gepia.cancer-pku.cn/) suggested that SBF2-AS1 is highly expressed in the TCGA-GBM DataBase (Fig. 1A). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that glioma patients with high SBF2-AS1 expression had shorter overall survival than those with low SBF2-AS1 expression (Fig. 1B). To explore the role of SBF2-AS1 in GBM progression, we further detected the expression SBF2-AS1 in GBM tissues and adjacent normal tissues by qRT-PCR. The results showed that the mRNA level of SBF2-AS1 was clearly elevated, and miR-338-3p was attenuated in GBM tissues compaired to the adjacent normal tissues (Fig. 1C). SBF2-AS1 was also significantly overexpressed in the high-grade gliomas (HGGs; grade III or IV) compared with that in the low-grade gliomas (LGGs; all grade II) (Fig. 1D). The mRNA level of SBF2-AS1 was further determined in GBM cell lines, including U87MG, LN18, U251 and T98G cells, and the normal astrocyte cells. Our results showed that the expression of SBF2-AS1 was much higher in all five GBM cell lines compaired with normal astrocyte cells (Fig. 1E). U87 and LN18 cells were selected for further studies. These results suggeted that SBF2-AS1 severd as an independent factor for advanced tumor progression and poor prognosis in patients with GBM.
SBF2-AS1 promotes proliferation and invasion of GBM cells
To identify the function of SBF2-AS1 on GBM progression, si-SBF2-AS1was transfected into U87MG and LN18 cells. CCK-8 assay showed that the proliferation ability of U87MG and LN18 cells was remarkably decreasd after siliencing of SBF2-AS1 (Fig. 2A-B). The protein expression of Ki-67 and CyclinD1 in U87MG and LN18 cells were further measured by Western blot analysis, and the data showed that the protein level of Ki-67 and CyclinD1 was significantly declined in the si-SBF2-AS1 group, contrast to the blank group and the si-NC group (all P < 0.05) (Fig. 2C-D). Next, transwell assay was conducted to evaluate the migration and invasion of U87MG and LN18 cells. The results indicated that he migration and invasion ability of GBM cells was inhibited in the si-SBF2-AS1 group, contrast to the he blank group and the si-negative control (NC) group (all P < 0.05) (Fig. 2E). Moreover, the protein level of MMP2 and MMP9 was clearly reduced in the si-SBF2-AS1 group, contrast to the blank group and the si-NC group (all P < 0.05) (Fig. 2F).
SBF2-AS1 inhibition promotes proliferation of GBM cells by repressing CyclinD1
To identify the function of SBF2-AS1 on GBM proliferation, si-SBF2-AS1 was transfected into U87MG and LN18 cells. CCK-8 assay showed that the proliferation ability of U87MG and LN18 cells was remarkably decreasd after siliencing of SBF2-AS1 (Fig. 2A-B). Flow cytometry showed that silencing SBF2-AS1 increased that proportion of cells in G1 phase and decreased the proportion of cells in S phase(Fig. 2C-D). The protein expression of Ki-67 and CyclinD1 in U87MG and LN18 cells were further measured by Western blot analysis, and the data showed that the protein level of Ki-67 and CyclinD1 was significantly declined in the si-SBF2-AS1 group, contrast to the blank group and the si-NC group (all P < 0.05) (Fig. 2E-F).
SBF2-AS1 inhibition promotes invasion of GBM cells by repressing MMP2 and MMP9
Next, transwell assay was conducted to evaluate the migration and invasion of U87MG and LN18 cells. The results indicated that he migration and invasion ability of GBM cells was inhibited in the si-SBF2-AS1 group, contrast to the he blank group and the si-NC group (all P < 0.05) (Fig. 3A-B). Moreover, the protein level of MMP2 and MMP9 was clearly reduced in the si-SBF2-AS1 group, contrast to the blank group and the si-NC group (all P < 0.05) (Fig. 3C-E). These results indicated that SBF2-AS1 inhibition attenuated the invasion of GBM cells.
SBF2-AS1 inhibition increases GBM cells sensitivity to ionizing radiation in vitro
To investigate whether the specific inhibition of SBF2-AS1 may modify the cellular radiosensitivity, γ-H2AX assay was used to analyze the DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) repair efficiency because the signals of γ-H2AX reflect the amounts of DNA DSBs in irradiated cells and indirectly describe the efficiency of DNA DSBs repair. The results showed that there was no apparent difference in the γ-H2AX-positive ratios among the examined cells immediately after IR (30 minutes), suggesting that there was not much difference in the induction of DNA DSBs in these irradiated cells, however, the γ-H2AX-positive ratios clearly increased in the irradiated cells in siRNA-SBF2-AS1 group compared with that in si-NC group (Fig. 4A-C). Next, the impact of silencing SBF2-AS1 on GBM cell survival after irradiation was examined by a clonogenic assay to analyze the reproductive death in U87 and LN18 cell. The results showed SBF2-AS1 inhibition made U87 and LN18 cells more sensitive to radiation after a 2 Gy irradiation (Fig. 4D-E). These results indicated that SBF2-AS1 inhibition increases GBM cells radio-sensitivity and radiation-induced cell death.
SBF2-AS1 inhibition increases GBM cells sensitivity to ionizing radiation in vivo
To evaluate the effects of SBF2-AS1 inhibition on GBM cells growth and radiosensitivity in xnograft mouse model, we subcutaneously injected the cell lines (U87MG and LN18 cells, or expressiong si-NC and si-SBF2-AS1) to both hind legs of each nude mouse. After tumor formed, we exposed the left hind leg of each mouse including the tumor area to X-ray radiaiton (3 Gy, 3 times at 48 h intervals) and the right hind leg including the tumor area was used as the mock-irradiaiton control. Twelve days after final irradiation, the mice were killed and tumors were removed. The results showed that the volume and weght of the tumors was clearly reduced in si-SBF2-AS1 group, contrast to the blank and si-NC group, indicating that si-SBF2-AS1 inhibition could suppress the tumor grow in GBM (Fig. 5A-B). Similar to the in vitro data, the size and weight of the tumors in si-SBF2-AS1 group were much more smaller than that of the tumors in the blank and si-NC group(Fig. 5C-F), indicating that SBF2-AS1 plays an important role in the resistance of irradiation.
SBF2-AS1 directly binds with miR-338-3p in GBM
As increasing studies revealed that lncRNAs could function as ceRNAs for miRNA in tumor progression, we explored the interaction between SBF2-AS1 and miRNA in GBM cells. RNA 22 website revealed that SBF2-AS1 could specifically bind to miR-338-3p (Fig. 6A). Dural-luciferase assay results showed that the luciferase activity was remarkably attenuated in co-tranfected with miR-338-3p mimics group (Fig. 6B). RIP assay results showed that SBF2-AS1 and miR-338-3p expression were significantly enriched in Ago2 pellet compared to IgG control (Fig. 6C-D).
SBF2-AS1 regulates MAP4K3 expression via miR-338-3p in GBM
Our previous study revealed that MAP4K3 was a target of miR-338-3p in glioma. In the present study, MAP4K3 was significantly increased in GBM tumor tissues and cell lines (Fig. 7A-B). Then, we explored whether SBF2-AS1 could regulate MAP4K3 via miR-338-3p. The data showed that SBF2-AS1 inhibition clearly reduced MAP4K3 expression in U87MG and LN18 cells, while miR-338-3p mimics could reverse this effect (Fig. 7D). Furthermore, MTT assay showed that miR-338-3p mimics significantly rescued the proliferation of SBF2-AS1 silenced U87MG and LN18 cells. These results indicated that SBF2-AS1 promotes GBM progression through regulating miR-338-3p/MAP4K3 axis.