Huai'er Qinggao Inhibits Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression by Increasing LINC02154 Expression

Background: Aberrant expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) is associated with various malignant tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Huai'er Qinggao is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that exerts anti-cancer effects. In this study, we aimed to determine the roles and underlying molecular mechanisms of Huai'er Qinggao in HCC via lncRNA se-quencing. Methods: We determined the viability of the human HCC cell line, SMMC-7721, treated with Huai'er Qinggao using the cell counting kit-8 assay. We also screened the differentially expressed (DE)-lncRNAs in Huai'er Qinggao-treated HCC cells using lncRNA sequencing. Expression levels of four selected DElncRNAs and several markers associated with cell growth were de-termined using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 2154 (LINC02154) was knocked down to determine its roles in apoptosis, migration, proliferation, and invasion of SMMC-7721 cells. Results: Huai'er Qinggao significantly inhibited SMMC-7721 cell proliferation. Moreover, treatment with Huai'er Qinggao (half-maximal inhibitory concentration) resulted in 341 upregulated and 359 downregulated DElncRNAs. LINC02154 expres-sion levels were significantly increased in treated cells than in control cells. Moreover, inhibition of LINC02154 expression sig-nificantly rescued the effects of Huai'er Qinggao on cell proliferation, clone formation, apoptosis, invasion, and expression of cell growth-related markers, such as cyclin B1, phosphatase and tensin homolog, (B cell lymphoma-2) Bcl-2, ras homolog family member A, and small mothers against decapentaplegic (SMAD) family member 2, in SMMC-7721 cells. Conclusions: Our results indicate that Huai'er Qinggao inhibits HCC progression by upregulating LINC02154 expression.