Long non-coding RNA-CRNDE: a novel regulator of tumor growth and angiogenesis in hepatoblastoma

// Rui Dong 1, * , Xiang-Qi Liu 1, * , Bin-Bin Zhang 1 , Bai-Hui Liu 1 , Shan Zheng 1 and Kui-Ran Dong 1 1 Department of Pediatric Hepatobiliary Surgery, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Neonatal Disease, Ministry of Health, Shanghai 201102, China * Rui Dong and Xiang-Qi Liu have contributed equally to this work as first author Correspondence to: Rui Dong, email: dongrui_120@163.com Keywords: long non-coding RNA, tumor angiogenesis, tumor growth, mTOR signaling Received: July 25, 2016     Accepted: January 10, 2017     Published: February 02, 2017 ABSTRACT Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in many biological processes, such as angiogenesis, invasion, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. They have emerged as key players in the pathology of several tumors, including hepatoblastoma. In this study, we elucidate the biological and clinical significance of CRNDE up-regulation in hepatoblastoma. CRNDE is significantly up-regulated in human hepatoblastoma specimens and metastatic hepatoblastoma cell lines. CRNDE knockdown reduces tumor growth and tumor angiogenesis in vivo , and decreases hepatoblastoma cell viability, proliferation, and angiogenic effect in vitro . Mechanistic studies show that CRNDE knockdown plays its anti-proliferation and anti-angiogenesis role via regulating mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. Taken together, this study reveals a crucial role of CRNDE in the pathology of hepatoblastoma. CRNDE may serve as a promising diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for hepatoblastoma.