Long Non-Coding Rna-Mediated Pten Regulation In Prostate Cancer.

e16081 Background: Loss of expression of PTEN is a common event in prostate cancer and is associated with a poor prognosis. Multiple mechanisms may be associated with its loss of expression. Mounting evidence suggests that lncRNA could function as microRNA sponges and compete for microRNA binding to protein-coding transcripts. However, the prevalence, functional significance and targets of lncRNA-mediated sponge regulation in cancer are largely unknown. Methods: We developed a computational pipeline to repurpose exon-array data to interrogate the lncRNA expression across a large number of human prostate tumor samples. We utilized an integrative analysis of sequence features and gene expression profiles of both lncRNAs and protein-coding genes in tumors. We also experimentally validated our analyses by confirming the tumor-suppressive function of two lncRNAs and their regulation of PTEN expression in prostate cancer. Results: We have uncovered a pervasive lncRNA-mediated sponge regulatory mechanism that im...