AUTHOR=Zhang Kaiming , Liu Peng , Tang Hailin , Xie Xiaoming , Kong Yanan , Song Cailu , Qiu Xingsheng , Xiao Xiangsheng 

TITLE=AFAP1-AS1 Promotes Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Tumorigenesis Through Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2018.01248

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2018.01248

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<p>Long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) actin filament-associated protein1-antisense RNA 1 (AFAP1-AS1) is overexpressed in various types of cancers and plays an important role in tumor progression and prognosis. This study investigates the role of AFAP1-AS1 in tumor progression in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). We found that AFAP1-AS1 was overexpressed in TNBC tissues and cells. Overexpression of LncRNA AFAP1-AS1 was associated with poor prognosis in TNBC patients. Moreover, we demonstrated that upregulation of AFAP1-AS1 promoted cell proliferation and invasion, and inhibited cell apoptosis <italic>in vitro</italic>, while overexpression of AFAP1-AS1 promoted tumor growth <italic>in vivo</italic>. Our results also revealed that upregulation of AFAP1-AS1 activated Wnt/β-catenin pathway to promote tumorigenesis and cell invasion by increasing the expression of C-myc and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related molecules in TNBC. Collectively, AFAP1-AS1 can be an independent prognostic marker and an effective therapeutic target of triple- negative breast cancer.</p>