Photo Credit: Nemes Laszlo

The following is a summary of “Effect of lncRNA XIST on acute myeloid leukemia cells via miR-142-5p-PFKP axis,” published in the February  2024 issue of Hematology by Jiang et al.

Despite being the most common hematologic cancer with a poor prognosis, the specific contribution of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) to the development of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) remains unclear.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to decipher the impact and underlying mechanisms of lncRNA X inactive specific transcript (lncRNA XIST) on the development of AML.

They conducted tests to meet their goal, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was employed to identify the expression of lncRNA XIST, miR-142-5p, and the platelet isoform of phosphofructokinase (PFKP). The association between miR-142-5p, lncRNA XIST, and PFKP was confirmed through Functional experiments that assessed how knocking down lncRNA XIST affected THP-1 and U937 cells, including Pearson correlation analysis, a dual-luciferase reporter assay, and pull-down assay.

The results showed that in AML, lncRNA XIST, and PFKP expression levels were increased, while miR-142-5p expression levels were decreased compared with bone marrow cells. Further analysis revealed that lncRNA XIST targeted and bound to miR-142-5p, and PFKP was a target gene of miR-142-5p. Knockdown of lncRNA XIST significantly boosted miR-142-5p expression to decrease PFKP in THP-1 and U937 cells, leading to inhibited cell proliferation, viability, and cell cycle arrest, along with increased apoptosis. MiR-142-5p reversal countered lncRNA XIST impact in AML cells.

Investigators concluded that suppressing lncRNA XIST expression hindered the progression of AML through its regulatory influence on miR-142-5p.

Source: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16078454.2024.2306444