Downregulation of lncRNA SDPR-AS is associated with poor prognosis in renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a common type of kidney cancer. Normally, surgical treatment can prolong life, but only for patients with early stage tumors. However, it is difficult for early detection strategies to distinguish between benign and malignant kidney tumors. Therefore, potential biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis of RCC are needed. Intriguingly, mounting evidence has demonstrated that many long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are strongly linked to cancers. Indeed, promising RCC-associated lncRNA biomarkers have also been identified. However, the functional and prognostic roles of the antisense (AS) serum deprivation response (SDPR) lncRNA (SDPR-AS) in RCC remain largely unknown. The aims of this study were to investigate the expression and prognostic relevance of SDPR-AS in RCC. We uncovered the downregulated expressions of both lncRNA SDPR-AS and its protein-coding gene, SDPR, in RCC tissues compared to the matched normal tissues. Furthermore, SDPR-AS and SDPR expressions were positively correlated. Overexpression and knockdown experiments suggested that SDPR-AS and SDPR were coregulated in RCC cell lines. In addition, overexpression of SDPR-AS suppressed cell migration and invasion, but not cell growth. Furthermore, expression of SDPR-AS was associated with tumor differentiation and lymphatic metastasis. Kaplan–Meier survival and log-rank tests demonstrated the association of elevated expression of SDPR-AS with increased overall survival. In conclusion, our results suggest that the SDPR-AS may serve as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target of RCC.