Identification of differentially expressed signatures of long non-coding RNAs associated with different metastatic potentials in gastric cancer

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) is known for its lymph node metastasis and outstanding morbidity and mortality. Thus, improvement in the current knowledge regarding the molecular mechanism of GC is urgently needed to discover novel biomarkers involved in its progression and prognosis. Several long, non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in gastric tumorigenesis and metastasis. However, the signature of lncRNA-associated metastasis in GC is not fully clarified. METHODS: We determined the lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles correlating to GC with or without lymph node-metastasis based on microarray analysis. Twelve differentially expressed lncRNAs and six differentially expressed mRNAs were validated by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay. RESULTS: The relationships between the aberrantly expressed lncRNAs XLOC_010235 or RP11-789C1.1 and lymph node metastasis, pathologic metastasis status, distal metastasis and TNM (tumour, node, and metastasis) stage were found to be significantly different. Via survival analysis, patients who had high-expressed XLOC_010235 or low-expressed RP11-789C1.1 showed significantly worse survival than patients with inverse-expressed XLOC_010235 or RP11-789C1.1. CONCLUSION: In summary, this current study highlights some evidence regarding the potential role of lncRNAs in GC and posits that specific lncRNAs can be identified as novel, poor prognostic biomarkers in GC. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00535-015-1091-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.