Increased HAGLR expression promotes non–small cell lung cancer proliferation and invasion via enhanced de novo lipogenesis

Lung cancers are broadly classified into small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer, with non-small cell lung cancer one of the leading causes of cancer-associated deaths worldwide. Presently, the mechanisms underlying lung tumorigenesis remain incompletely understood. Accumulating evidence indicates that abnormal expression of long non-coding RNAs is associated with tumorigenesis in multiple cancers, including lung cancer. HAGLR messenger RNA of non-small cell lung cancer tissues was significantly higher. Moreover, high levels of HAGLR expression were associated with non-small cell lung cancer tumor lymph node metastasis status, stage, and poor overall survival. Inhibition of HAGLR in non-small cell lung cancer cells suppressed cell proliferation and invasion. RNA interference-mediated downregulation of HAGLR also decreased levels of fatty acid synthase, with fatty acid synthase levels positively correlated with HAGLR expression in non-small cell lung cancer specimens. In addition, the cellular free fatty acid content of cancer cells was decreased following HAGLR knockdown. HAGLR depletion significantly inhibited the growth of non-small cell lung cancer cells in vivo. Furthermore, the expression levels of p21 and matrix metallopeptidase-9 (MMP-9) were dysregulated when HAGLR expression was suppressed. Our results suggest that HAGLR is an important regulator of non-small cell lung cancer cell proliferation and invasion, perhaps by regulating fatty acid synthase. Therefore, targeting HAGLR may be a possible therapeutic strategy for non-small cell lung cancer.