RAD51-AS1 inhibits the migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells by up-regulating RARA to activate ZYX transcription.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most prevailing cancers threatening men health around the world. Mounting studies have revealed that dysregulated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) might contribute to cancer development. RAD51-AS1 has been reported as an tumor-suppressor in different diseases, but not in PCa. Therefore, we aimed to explore the role of RAD51-AS1 and the underlying regulatory mechanism in PCa. RT-qPCR was conducted for the measurement of RNA levels. Bioinformatics analysis was performed for screening out possible research targets. Mechanism assays were implemented for detecting relations among different factors, while functional assays were employed to determine the function of genes in PCa cells. RAD51-AS1 expression was found to be low in PCa cells, which resulted in exacerbated PCa cell migration and invasion. RAD51-AS1 recruited HNRNPC in PCa cell nucleus to bind with pre-RARA, thus positively modulating RARA expression. RARA activated ZYX transcription to enhance ZYX expression in PCa cells. Rescue assay substantiated RAD51-AS1 inhibited PCa cell migration and invasion through modulating ZYX expression. The anti-oncogenic role of RAD51-AS1 was realized through HNRNPC/RARA/ZYX axis, which might offer a novel insight for understanding PCa.