LNMICC promotes nodal metastasis of cervical cancer by reprogramming fatty acid metabolism

Cancer spread to lymph nodes (LN) predicts poor survival but underlying mechanisms remain little understood. In this study, we show that overexpression of the long non-coding RNA LNMICC associates with LN metastasis of primary cervical cancer, where it serves as an independent high-risk factor in patient survival. Functional investigations demonstrated that LNMICC promoted LN metastasis by reprogramming fatty acid metabolism, by recruiting the nuclear factor NPM1 to the promoter of the fatty acid binding protein FABP5. We also found that the pro-metastatic effects of LNMICC were directly targeted and suppressed by miR-190. Our results establish a new mechanism of LN metastasis and highlight LNMICC as a candidate prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in cervical cancer.

http://ift.tt/2BVpbuS