Long noncoding RNA hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha-antisense RNA 1 promotes tumor necrosis factor-α-induced apoptosis through caspase 3 in Kupffer cells

Kupffer cells (KCs) play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) which is characterized by acute and severe disease in patients with preexisting liver disease and shows high mortality. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are recently found to be involved in gene regulation. However, the mechanisms of how KCs are regulated by inflammatory factors, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and whether lncRNAs are involved in the process remain largely unknown. Hence, we investigated the role of lncRNAs in the cytotoxicity of TNF-α on KCs. lncRNA array (The lncRNAs in the array are apoptosis-related lncRNAs reported in some research papers.) was used to identify lncRNAs related with liver fibrosis. Annexin V/protease inhibitor (PI) staining was used for detection of cell apoptosis. Real time-polymerase chain reaction was utilized for analysis of mRNA levels of lncRNA hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha-antisense RNA 1 (HIF1A-AS1) and apoptosis-related genes. Western blot was implied to the determination of lymphoid enhancer factor-1 (LEF-1). In this study, we found that HIF1A-AS1 could be upregulated by TNF-α by lncRNA array analysis and knockdown of HIF1A-AS1 significantly rescued cell apoptosis induced by TNF-α. Moreover, inhibition of HIF1A-AS1 markedly reduced mRNA level of caspase 3 which can be significantly enhanced by TNF-α. Furthermore, HIF1A-AS1 showed binding sites for LEF-1 and siRNA-mediated downregulation of LEF-1 decreased HIF1A-AS1 level in KCs treated with TNF-α. This study elucidates a new role of HIF1A-AS1 in TNF-α-induced cell apoptosis and provides potential therapeutic targets for ACLF.