Overexpression of Long Non-Coding RNA ZXF2 Promotes Lung Adenocarcinoma Progression Through c-Myc Pathway

Objective: To investigate the expression of long non-coding RNA ZXF2 in lung adenocarcinoma tissues and its effect on cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Methods: Forty pairs of cancerous and adjacent non-cancerous lung adenocarcinoma specimens were collected for the studies. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to analyze the expression of ZXF2 in tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues. The expression of ZXF2 was correlated with patients' clinico-pathological data. Molecular pathway controlled by ZXF2 was explored by using small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology. CCK-8 cell proliferation assay, flow cytometry analysis and transwell assays were used to evaluate cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Results: The expression of ZXF2 was 2 fold or higher in 27 out of 40 (67.5%) cases of lung adenocarcinoma specimens than that in non-cancerous tissues (P2=8.485, PConclusion: ZXF2 was overexpressed in lung adenocarcinoma tissues and the high expression of ZXF was closely related to tumor progression through c-Myc related pathway. Given the fact that both ZXF2 and c-Myc are located in the same chromosome 8q24.2 loci, the potential interaction between ZXF2 and c-Myc might be a novel target for treatment of lung adenocarcinoma.