LncSNHG14 promotes ovarian cancer by targeting microRNA-125a-5p
Authors: Y-L Zhao
Y-M Huang
Journal: European review for medical and pharmacological sciences (2019)
Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
Keywords: SNHG14; microRNA-125a-5p; ovarian cancer; cell proliferation; cell cycle progression
Affiliations: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tengzhou Women and Children's Health Hospital in Shandong Province, Tengzhou, China. .

Abstract:  Objective: This study aims to investigate whether small nucleolar RNA host gene 14 (SNHG14) is involved in the development of ovarian cancer through affecting cell proliferation and cell cycle progression by regulating microRNA-125a-5p. Patients and methods: We detected the mRNA expressions of SNHG14 and microRNA-125a-5p by quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) in ovarian cancer tissues and normal ovarian tissues. Their expression levels in ovarian cancer cell lines were examined as well. Meanwhile, the regulatory effects of SNHG14 and microRNA-125a-5p on cell proliferation and cell cycle were detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and flow cytometry, respectively. The binding relationship between microRNA-125a-5p and SNHG14 was examined by the Luciferase reporter gene assay. It was further confirmed by recovery experiments whether SHHG14 can affect the proliferation and cycle of ovarian cancer cells by regulating microRNA-125a-5p. Results: SNHG14 was highly expressed in ovarian cancer tissues and cell lines relative to controls. The survival curve analysis showed that the AUC was 0.8681 and Cutoff value was 2.33. The five-year survival rate of the high SNHG14 expression group was markedly lower than that of the low SNHG14 expression group. In addition, we found that SNHG14 could accelerate cell proliferation and cell cycle progression of ovarian cancer cells. Dual-Luciferase reporter gene experiments indicated that SNHG14 could bind to microRNA-125a-5p, which was lowly expressed in ovarian cancer patients. However, the overexpression of microRNA-125a-5p reversed the promotive effect of SNHG14 on the proliferation and cell cycle of ovarian cancer cells. Dual-Luciferase reporter gene assay also indicated that DHX33 was a target gene of microRNA-125a-5p. The overexpression of DHX33 could attenuate the inhibitory effect of microRNA-125a-5p on cell proliferation and cell cycle in SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells. Conclusions: High expression of SNHG14 can promote the ovarian cancer cell proliferation and accelerate the cell cycle by sponging microRNA-125a-5p to regulate DHX33 expression. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 *[right]* Fig 1C from [Zhao Huang (2019)] .  C, Survival analysis showed that the area under the curve was 0.8681 and the cutoff value was 2.33 . *[left]* Fig 1C from [Li et al (2019)] .  Survival curves suggested the potential of SNHG14 to be a biomarker for BCa (AUC=0.842, cut-off value=2.714) . ![file] Two research groups have independently made the error of labelling a ROC curve as  survival analysis . I am not certain what level of similarity to expect between independent ROC curves, but I suspect that these exceed it. The text is adamant that Fig 1C relates somehow to patient survival:  Next, we performed the survival curve analysis of SNHG14 and found that the area under the curve was 0.8681 and the cutoff value was **2.33**, indicating the diagnostic potential of SNHG14 in ovarian cancer . Yet ROCs are about the binary-discrimination diagnostic value of a biomarker. Precisely what the biomarker might be in 1C is anyone s guess. It is not noticeably related to SNHG14 expression in Fig 1A, where the cut-off value could be anywhere around **0.013**. ![file] , 
 *[left]* Fig 1D from [Zhao Huang (2019)] .  SNHG14 was highly expressed in ovarian cancer.... D, The five-year survival rate was analyzed . *[right]* Fig 2B from [Sheng et al (2019)] .  B, A negative correlation was found between the five-year survival rate of OC patients and circUBAP2 expression . Remarkable similarities. ![file] , 
 Clockwise from upper left: a. Fig 1D from [Jiang et al (2019)] .  Lnc00908 was highly expressed in OC... Correlation between five-year survival rate of OC patients and lnc00908 expression . **b. Fig 1D from [Zhao Huang (2019)] .  SNHG14 was highly expressed in ovarian cancer... The five-year survival rate was analyzed .** c. Fig 2B from [Sheng et al (2019)] .  CircUBAP2 promoted OC development... A negative correlation was found between the five-year survival rate of OC patients and circUBAP2 expression . d. Fig 1D from [Sun Fan (2019)] .  Upregulation of SNHG12 in OC. ... The survival analysis demonstrated a worse prognosis in OC patients with high-level SNHG12 relative to those with low-level SNHG12 . ![file] Many similarities, most notably between b) and c), and between a) and d). ,