Increased Long Noncoding RNA HCG18 Indicates the Adverse Prognosis and Deteriorating Development of Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma Through Suppressing miR-494-3p

Objectives: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a common and malignant subtype of lymphoma. Dysregulated lncRNA HCG18 has been reported to serve as tumor regulators in various human cancers. The expression and significance of lncRNA human leukocyte antigen complex Group 18 (HCG18) in the occurrence and development of HCG18 were confirmed in this study aiming to provide a potential biomarker for the screening and monitoring of DLBCL.

Methods: This study enrolled 82 DLBCL patients and the HCG18 levels in tissues were detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Kaplan–Meier and Cox analyses were employed to assess its prognostic significance. In DLBCL cells, HCG18 was silenced by cell transfection, and its function in cell growth and metastasis was evaluated by cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) and Transwell assays.

Results: HCG18 was significantly upregulated in DLBCL tumor tissues, predicting the adverse outcomes of DLBCL patients and being correlated with the advanced malignant subtypes, Ann-Arbor stage, and high international prognostic index (IPI) of patients. In vitro, HCG18 negatively regulated the expression of miR-494-3p in DLBCL cells. Silencing HCG18 dramatically suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of DLBCL cells, which was reversed by the knockdown of miR-494-3p.

Conclusions: Upregulated HCG18 served as a prognostic biomarker of DLBCL and promoted the development of DLBCL by negatively modulating miR-494-3p, which provides a candidate target for the clinical therapy of DLBCL.