Misregulation of the Dependence Receptor DCC and its Upstream lincRNA, LOC100287225, in Colorectal Cancer

Background Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of regulatory RNAs, play a major role in various cellular processes. Long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs), a subclass of lncRNAs, are involved in the trans- and cis-regulation of gene expression. In the case of cis-regulation, by recruiting chromatin-modifying complexes, lincRNAs influence adjacent gene expression. Methods We used quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to evaluate the coexpression of LOC100287225, a lincRNA, and DCC, one of its adjacent genes that is often decreased in colorectal cancer, in pairs of tumor and adjacent tumor-free tissues of 30 colorectal cancer patients. Results The qRT-PCR results revealed the misregulation of these genes during tumorigenesis. Their relative expression levels were significantly lower in tumor tissues than adjacent tumor-free tissues. However, the analysis found no significant correlation between reduced expression of these genes. Conclusions Our study demonstrated the concurrent misregulation of DCC and LOC100287225 in colorectal cancer.