IncRNA ZFAS1 contributes to the radioresistance of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by sponging hsa-miR-7-5p to upregulate ENO2

Previous research revealed that lncRNA ZFAS1 could promote nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) by inhibiting its downstream target axis. However, the association between ZFAS1 and radioresistant NPC cells is unclear. This study aimed to explore the roles of ZFAS1 in the radioresistance of NPC. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to identify the significant factors (ENO2 and miR-7-5p) that contributed to the radioresistance of NPC cells. After performing qRT-PCR analysis, we found that the expression of ZFAS1 and ENO2 was upregulated in NPC cells but that the miR-7-5p expression was downregulated in the same samples. Apart from that, we noticed that ZFAS1 inhibition enhanced the sensitivity of NPC cells to radiation therapy by repressing cell proliferation and promoting cell apoptosis. Subsequently, we found that ZFAS1 could sponge miR-7-5p to upregulate ENO2, which was the target of miR-7-5p. Experimental results also indicated that the suppression of miR-7-5p inhibited the sensitivity of NPC cells to radiation therapy, thereby suppressing ENO2 expression. Overall, our findings suggested that ZFAS1 contributed to the radioresistance of NPC cells by regulating the miR-7-5p/ENO2 axis and that ZFAS1 might be a potential therapeutic target for addressing the radioresistance of NPC cells.

既往研究表明，长链非编码RNA ZFAS1（lncRNA ZFAS1）可通过抑制下游靶标轴促进鼻咽癌（nasopharyngeal carcinoma, NPC）的进展。然而，ZFAS1与放射抵抗性鼻咽癌细胞之间的关联尚不明确。本研究旨在探讨ZFAS1在鼻咽癌细胞放射抵抗中的作用。通过生物信息学分析，本研究鉴定出与鼻咽癌细胞放射抵抗相关的关键因子：烯醇化酶2（ENO2）与微小RNA-7-5p（miR-7-5p）。经实时荧光定量聚合酶链反应（quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, qRT-PCR）检测发现，在鼻咽癌细胞样本中，ZFAS1与ENO2的表达均上调，而miR-7-5p的表达则下调。此外，研究团队观察到，抑制ZFAS1可通过抑制细胞增殖、促进细胞凋亡，增强鼻咽癌细胞对放射治疗的敏感性。后续实验证实，ZFAS1可通过海绵吸附miR-7-5p，从而上调miR-7-5p的靶基因ENO2的表达。实验结果还表明，抑制miR-7-5p会降低鼻咽癌细胞对放射治疗的敏感性，进而下调ENO2的表达。综上，本研究结果提示，ZFAS1可通过调控miR-7-5p/ENO2轴增强鼻咽癌细胞的放射抵抗性，其或可成为解决鼻咽癌细胞放射抵抗问题的潜在治疗靶点。