Long Non-coding RNA CCAT1 Sponges miR-454 to Promote Chemoresistance of Ovarian Cancer Cells to Cisplatin by Regulation of Surviving

PURPOSE: Colon cancer-associated transcript 1 (CCAT1) was identified as an oncogenic long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in a variety of cancers. However, there was a lack of understanding of the mechanism by which CCAT1 conferred cisplatin (also known as DDP) resistance in ovarian cancer cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cell viability of A2780, SKOV3, A2780/DDP, and SKOV3/DDP cells upon cisplatin treatment was monitored by MTT assay. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) detected the expression levels of CCAT1 and miR-454. The effect of sh-CCAT1 on cisplatin response was investigated in xenografts study. Bioinformatic analysis, luciferase reporter assay and qRT-PCR were conducted to validate the direct interaction among CCAT1, miR-454, and survivin. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry after dual staining of Annexin-V-FITC/propidium iodide, and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2, Bax and survivin were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Xenograft study was conducted to monitor in vivo tumor formation. RESULTS: CCAT1 was highly expressed in cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cell line A2780/DDP and SKOV3/DDP. Knockdown of CCAT1 restored sensitivity to cisplatin in vitro and in vivo. Our data revealed that silencing of CCAT1 promoted cisplatin-induced apoptosis via modulating the expression of pro- or anti-apoptotic proteins Bax, Bcl-2, and survivin. CCAT1 directly interacted with miR-454, and miR-454 overexpression potentiated cisplatin-induced apoptosis. Survivin was identified as a functional target of miR-454, restoration of survivin attenuated the effect of miR-454 on cisplatin response. In addition, miR-454 inhibitor or overexpression of survivin was found to abolish sh-CCAT1–induced apoptosis upon cisplatin treatment. CONCLUSION: CCAT1/miR-454/survivin axis conferred cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer cells.