LncRNA HANR promotes the aerobic glycolysis in prostate cancer by stabilizing TPI1

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a type of malignancy that originates in the prostate gland, often characterized by uncontrolled cell growth and potential metastasis. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play crucial regulatory roles in the progression of prostate cancer, potentially facilitating tumor growth and metastasis via mechanisms that involve the enhancement of aerobic glycolysis. This study aimed to investigate the functional role of lncRNA HANR in prostate cancer progression. Bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation revealed a significant up-regalation of HANR in prostate cancer tissues, in comparison to adjacent normal tissues. Functional studies demonstrated that silencing HANR inhibited prostate cancer cells proliferation, migration, invasion, and glycolysis. While HANR overexpression promoted prostate cancer cells proliferation, invasion, and glycolysis. Mechanistically, HANR interacts with triosephosphate isomerase 1 (TPI1), a key glycolytic enzyme, to promote glycolysis and tumor growth. Silencing HANR or TPI1 reduced prostate tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the HANR-TPI1 axis plays a crucial role in the progression of prostate cancer and may represent a novel biomarker and therapeutic target for aggressive prostate cancer, given its role in enhancing aerobic glycolysis and facilitating tumorigenesis in prostate cancer cells.