Long non-coding RNA CEBPA-AS1 correlates with poor prognosis and promotes tumorigenesis via CEBPA/Bcl2 in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most aggressive and lethal malignancies affecting the head and neck region with a general 5-year survival rate about 50%. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are believed to participate in diverse biological processes and are emerging as convenient and minimally invasive diagnostic/prognostic/therapeutic markers. The aim of this study was to explore CEBPA-AS1 role and mechanism in OSCC tumorigenesis. In this study, CEBPA-AS1 localized in the cytoplasm and the peri-nuclear cellular compartment functioning as a potential oncogene up-regulated in OSCC was correlated with poor differentiation, lymph node metastasis and high clinical stage, which made it considered to be a prognostic biomarker. Silence of CEBPA-AS1 inhibited OSCC cells proliferation and induced cells apoptosis, migration and invasion by targeting CEBPA and via a novel pathway CEBPA/Bcl2. Our findings provided the first evidence for the lncRNA CEBPA-AS1 regulatory network in OSCC tumorigenesis, which might be helpful to improve the effects of clinical treatment in OSCC.