Primary brain tumors are a rare occurrence in comparison to other malignancies, the most predominant form being glioma. Commonly, exposure to ionizing radiations and inheritance of associated conditions such a neurofibromatosis and tuberous sclerosis are the most common causes of development of glioma. However, understanding of the molecular mechanisms that drive glioma development is limited. We explore the role of aberration of microRNA namely miR-494-3p through long noncoding RNA WT1-AS in the development of gliomas. In this study, we found that, levels of WT1-AS were significantly reduced in glioma tissues and cell lines. The miR-494-3p levels were negatively correlated with WT1-AS levels. The cellular proliferation and invasiveness decreased in WT1-AS transfected cell lines. Further the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of chemotherapeutic agent temozolomide was significantly reduced in the presence of WT1-AS. The cotransfection of WT1-AS and miR-494-3p reduced activation of phospho-AKT (p-AKT). Expression of miR-494-3p is modulated by binding to long noncoding RNA WT1-AS. Deregulation of WT1-AS leads to aberrant expression of miR-494-3p leading to hyperactivation of AKT. This malformation may result in altering protective immune responses in malignancies. Targeting of WT1-AS, miR-494-3p, and AKT may be novel therapeutic options in treatment of glioma.
Keywords: WT1-AS; glioma; long noncoding RNA; miR-494-3p.