Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Pulmonary fibrosis is a debilitating, progressive lung disorder marked by insidious onset and relentless decline. Emerging evidence highlights the regulatory significance of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in fibrotic processes. METHODS: This study investigated the mechanistic role of lncRNA LUCAT1 in pulmonary fibrosis using TGF-β-stimulated A549 cells as an in vitro model. The methodologies employed include qPCR and Western blot to assess gene and protein expression, CCK-8 assays to evaluate cell viability, cell migration assays for assessing mobility, and dual-luciferase reporter assays to analyze miRNA interactions. RESULTS: In A549 cells treated with TGF-β, LUCAT1 expression increased. After LUCAT1 was silenced, both cell vitality and exercise ability promoted by TGF-β were reduced. Inhibition of LUCAT1 increases E-cadherin levels and decreases the expression of α-SMA and Collagen I. LUCAT1 interacts with miR-2278. Blocking miR-2278 prevented the reduction in proliferation, migration, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) in TGF-β-treated A549 cells due to knock-out of LUCAT1. Similarly, inhibition of miR-2278 also eliminated the decline in proliferation, migration, and EMT in TGF-β stimulated A549 cells due to inhibition of LUCAT1. CONCLUSION: LUCAT1 knockdown targeted STAT5A by sponging miR-2278 to inhibit the TGF-β-induced proliferation, migration, and EMT in A549 cells, stretching the treatment strategy of lung epithelial injury.
Source: BMC Pulmonary Medicine
Authors: Juan Huang, Weiqiang Zhang
Institution: Meizhou City People's Hospital
Language: English
Subfield: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,090
OpenAlex ID: W4416211522