WT1-AS promotes cell apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma through down-regulating of WT1

BACKGROUND: The antisense of the tumor suppressor gene WT1 (WT1-AS) is a long non-coding RNA. The role of WT1-AS in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not yet been elucidated. METHODS: Quantitative real-time PCR and western blot analyses were used to measure levels of WT1-AS and its related genes in tumor and corresponding adjacent tumor tissues of HCC patients. The effect on HCC cell proliferation and apoptosis was assessed by EdU incorporation assays and PI-Annexin-V staining, respectively. ShRNA and dual-luciferase assays were used to investigate the regulatory relationship between WT1-AS and WT1 in cell lines. RESULTS: WT1-AS expression correlated negatively with WT1 expression in HCC tumor tissue. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis revealed that WT1-AS expression is a reliable indicator of HCC prognosis. The downregulation of WT1 expression by WT1-AS promoted cell apoptosis by suppressing the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway. Bioinformatics analysis showed that WT1-AS downregulates WT1 by binding to the TATA region of the WT1 promotor. WT1-AS was also able to reverse WT1-mediated resistance to Dox based chemotherapy in HCC cells. CONCLUSIONS: WT1-AS downregulates WT1 expression in HCC tumors and promotes apoptosis by binding to the promoter region of WT1. Our findings suggest that WT1-AS may function as a tumor suppressor in HCC by reversing the oncogenic effects of WT1. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13046-015-0233-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.