Discovery of prognostic lncRNAs in colorectal cancer using spatial transcriptomics

Holly R Pinkney; Cody R Ross; Timothy O Hodgson; Sharon T Pattison; Sarah D Diermeier

doi:10.1038/s41698-024-00728-1

Discovery of prognostic lncRNAs in colorectal cancer using spatial transcriptomics

NPJ Precis Oncol. 2024 Oct 10;8(1):230. doi: 10.1038/s41698-024-00728-1.

Authors

Holly R Pinkney¹, Cody R Ross², Timothy O Hodgson², Sharon T Pattison³, Sarah D Diermeier⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
² Awanui Laboratories, Dunedin, New Zealand.
³ Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
⁴ Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. sarah.diermeier@otago.ac.nz.

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) exhibits significant genetic and epigenetic diversity, evolving into sub-clonal populations with varied metastatic potentials and treatment responses. Predicting metastatic disease in CRC patients remains challenging, underscoring the need for reliable biomarkers. While most research on therapeutic targets and biomarkers has focused on proteins, non-coding RNAs such as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) comprise most of the transcriptome and demonstrate superior tissue- and cancer-specific expression. We utilised spatial transcriptomics to investigate lncRNAs in CRC tumours, offering more precise cell-type-specific expression data compared to bulk RNA sequencing. Our analysis identified 301 lncRNAs linked to malignant CRC regions, which we validated with public data. Further validation using RNA-FISH revealed three lncRNAs (LINC01978, PLAC4, and LINC01303) that are detectable in stage II tumours but not in normal epithelium and are upregulated in metastatic tissues. These lncRNAs hold potential as biomarkers for early risk assessment of metastatic disease.