High expression of long noncoding RNA HULC is a poor predictor of prognosis and regulates cell proliferation in glioma.

Purpose: Emerging studies show that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have important roles in carcinogenesis. This study investigated the role of lncRNA highly upregulated in liver cancer (HULC) expression in glioma and its clinical significance in glioma patients. Materials and methods: HULC expression was detected in glioma tissues and cell lines by using real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions. Association between HULC levels and clinicopathological factors and patients prognosis was also analyzed. Expression of HULC was restored and knocked down in glioma cell line U87 by using HULC cDNA and siRNA, respectively. CCK-8 and colony formation assays were used to investigate the role of HULC in the regulation of proliferation of glioma cells. Results: HULC was highly expressed in glioma tissues, being closely related to age and grade of glioma. Univariate survival analysis demonstrated that high HULC levels were significantly associated with overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio [HR], 0.422; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.220-0.806; P=0.009), and it remained an independent predictor for OS (HR, 0.340; 95% CI, 0.175-0.659; P=0.001) in multivariate Cox regression analysis. Functionally, forced expression of HULC results in increased cell proliferation and colony formation of U87 glioma cell line, whereas knockdown of HULC expression reduced these oncogenic properties of glioma cells. Conclusion: These findings suggest that HULC may play an important role in glioma progression and will be further evaluated as a biomarker for predicting the survival of glioma patients.