LncRNA CASC11 promotes TGF-β1, increases cancer cell stemness and predicts postoperative survival in small cell lung cancer

Abstract LncRNA CASC11 is a recently identified oncogenic lncRNA in colorectal cancer. This study aimed to investigate the role of lncRNA CASC11 in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). In the present study, expression levels of CASC11 and TGF-β1 were found to be positively and significantly correlated with the percentage of CDD133+ cells of SCLC cell lines. Plasma CASC11 and TGF-β1 were upregulated and positively correlated in SCLC patients, but not in healthy controls. Upregulation of plasma CASC11 and TGF-β1 predicted poor survival of SCLC patients. Overexpression of CASC11 and TGF-β1 also resulted in the increased percentage of CDD133+ cells of SCLC cell lines, while TGF-β inhibitor attenuated the effects of CASC11 overexpression. CASC11 overexpression mediated the upregulation of TGF-β1 in SCLC cells, while treatment with exogenous TGF-β1 showed no significant effect on CASC11. Therefore, lncRNA CASC11 promotes TGF-β1, increases cancer cell stemness and predicts postoperative survival in SCLC.