Evaluation of the expression of LINCOO475 and FOXO1 genes as tumor suppressor genes in breast cancer: Correlation of bioinformatics tools and experimental approaches

Abstract

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent forms of malignancy in humans and is considered the most important life-threatening factor among women worldwide. Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) are thought to be potential transcripts that regulate the expression of important genes in vital processes such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, survival, and oxidative stress. LINC00475 is an important lncRNA and is located on 9q22.31 and its expression is regulated by p53. FOXO1 gene is an important regulator in physiological processes such as cell maintenance and differentiation, stimulation of cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis. In this study, we focused on identifying a possible association between FOXO1 and LINC00475 expression levels in breast cancer. Bioinformatics expression and Microarray data analysis were utilized to find their potential role as novel biomarkers in breast cancer. The correlation of gene expression levels with the survival rate of patients was determined using GEPIA. LINC00475 and FOXO1 expression levels were validated using quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) in 55 tumors and 40 normal tissues. Our experiments indicated a significant decrease in the expression level of LINC00475 and FOXO1 genes in tumor tissues compared to normal samples. Moreover, the specificity and sensitivity of all statistical criteria were significant between the two groups. Also, we revealed a positive relationship between LINC00475 and FOXO1 expression in tumor samples. Based on gene expression analysis and lncRNA data, it was shown that LINC00475 and FOXO1 could represent as potential diagnostic biomarkers for early diagnosis of breast cancer.