Overexpression of a subset of long intergenic noncoding RNAs in uterine serous carcinoma predicts poor prognosis.

Abstract

The evaluation and prediction of uterine serous carcinoma (USC), a type of endometrial cancer that is more severe than endometrioid adenocarcinoma, remain challenging. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are frequently dysregulated in human cancers. This study assessed the expression patterns and prognostic values of long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) in USC. RNA sequencing, copy number variation (CNV), and clinical data from The Cancer Genome Atlas were used to investigate various lncRNAs in endometrial cancer. LincRNAs, a major subclass of lncRNAs, exhibit specific expression patterns modulated by CNVs and act as predictors of poor prognosis, survival, and recurrence in USC. Functional analyses were conducted to investigate the roles of lncRNAs in USC. Finally, the expression of these lincRNAs was verified in 32 pairs of USCs collected from the hospital over 3 years. A series of lincRNAs were found to be specifically expressed in USC compared with other lncRNAs and regulated by CNV. Moreover, these specific upregulated lincRNAs, particularly ENSG00000281406, ENSG00000226791, ENSG00000269903, and ENSG00000204277, demonstrated poor prognoses for survival and recurrence in USC. Functionally, our analysis showed that ENSG00000281406 positively correlated with the Wnt signaling pathway, whereas ENSG00000226791, ENSG00000269903, and ENSG00000204277 negatively correlated with the T-cell receptor signaling pathway. Importantly, we confirmed that ENSG00000204277 negatively correlated with CD8+ T-cell immune infiltration in USC. Our results highlight that these lincRNAs can serve as new biomarkers for the prognostic prediction of USC. In particular, ENSG00000204277 may be used as a therapeutic target for USC.