Expression and clinical significance of the long non-coding RNA PVT1 in human gastric cancer

BACKGROUND: Highly sensitive markers are urgently needed for the diagnosis and grading of gastric cancer and for managing drug resistance. The recent identification of long-non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has provided new approaches for resolving this challenge. The aim of this study was to screen and identify new biomarkers for human gastric cancer from lncRNAs. METHODS: First, we used lncRNA microarrays to conduct a preliminary screening for candidate lncRNAs of gastric cancer biomarkers in both human gastric cancer tissues and in two gastric cancer cell lines, SGC7901 cells and paclitaxel-resistant SGC7901 cells. The lncRNA plasma-cytoma variant translocation 1 (PVT1) was found to exhibit higher expression in both gastric cancer tissues and the SGC7901 paclitaxel-resistant cell line. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used for large-scale analysis in a large number of human gastric cancer tissues to verify the involvement of PVT1 in development of gastric cancer. The relationships between PVT1 expression and clinical features were also analyzed. RESULTS: PVT1 showed higher expression in human gastric cancer tissues than in adjacent non-cancerous tissues and in SGC7901 paclitaxel-resistant cells compared with SGC7901 cells. PVT1 expression was correlated with lymph node invasion of gastric cancer. CONCLUSION: PVT1 is a new biomarker for human gastric cancer and may indicate lymph node invasion. Therefore, PVT1 shows potential as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of gastric cancer and enhancement of paclitaxel sensitivity.