The Role of Long Non-Coding RNA CCAT1 and SNHG14 in Activation of Some Protein-Coding Genes Associated with the Development of Ovarian Cancer

Late diagnosis of ovarian cancer is one of the most important problems in its treatment. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) are a poorly studied, but promising type of diagnostic biomarkers. We studied the lncRNA interactome to identify biomarkers with potential significance for molecular diagnostics of ovarian cancer. By screening the TCGA database, we identified differentially expressed lncRNA CCAT1 and SNHG14. Based on the indices of complementarity of CCAT1 and SNHG14 to the mRNA sequences, we selected 5 protein-coding genes MAPK1, c-MET, TGFB2, SNAIL1, and WNT4 associated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Real-time PCR on 54 ovarian cancer samples confirmed the high expression levels of CCAT1 and SNHG14 (logFC>1.5, p<0.05). A positive correlation between the expression levels of two lncRNA and mRNA of 5 genes in 6 pairs was established. The activating effect of CCAT1 and SNHG14 on the expression of these genes can be mediated by miR-203 and miR-124.