Integrated analysis of ceRNA network in lung adenocarcinoma based on bioinformatics analysis

Abstract: Background Increasing studies have revealed that long noncoding RNA (lncRNAs) can bind to microRNA (miRNAs) as competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA), which can affect the expression of mRNAs. These lncRNA related ceRNAs theoretically play an important role in the occurrence and progress of cancer. However, the roles and functions of ceRNA network in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) are not completely clear. Methods 1. The chip data were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Different lncRNAs and mRNAs were analyzed by GEO2R, and then the target miRNAs and target mRNAs were predicted. The ceRNA network was constructed and subjected to enrichment analysis. 2. The lncRNA AFAP1-AS1 gene Knockout was constructed. The siRNA was constructed and transfected into LUAD cell A549 by cell transfection. The CCK8, Transwell, scratch assay and flow cytometry were used to gauging the ability of cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and apoptosis. Results In total, 6 lncRNAs and 494 mRNAs were identified as differentially expressed RNAs (DERNAs) in LUAD. A total of 6 DElncRNAs interacted with 22 DEmiRNAs and 22 DEmiRNAs interacted with 55 DEmRNAs were involved in the ceRNA network. These DEmRNAs were found to be related to cancer-related pathways, such as signaling pathways that regulate stem cell pluripotency, TGF-β signaling pathways, and protein digestion and absorption. Knockout of AFAP1-AS1 inhibits cell proliferation, invasion and migration. AFAP1-AS1 promotes apoptosis. Conclusions In this study, we constructed a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network which may help further research on the mechanism of LUAD. In addition, we identified AFAP1-AS1 as an oncogenic lncRNA in LUAD.