Study of lncRNA NEAT1 Gene Expression in Ovarian Cancer

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently emerged as effective regulatory agents in biological processes as well as in the formation of tumors. LncRNAs are important regulators of cell transformation and cancer progression. LncRNA NEAT1 is one of the most important lncRNAs, and its deregulation has been reported in a variety of human cancers. Ovarian cancer has an inverse relationship with the number of reported pregnancies and deliveries, while it has a direct relationship with infertility. This study aimed to investigate NEAT1 expression in ovarian cancer. A total of 140 tissue samples, including 70 ovarian tumors and 70 marginal samples, were included in the study. Total RNA was extracted using the RNXplus solution. The quality and quantity of the extracted RNAs were determined using gel electrophoresis and a NanoDrop device. The complementary DNA was synthesized by the reverse transcriptase enzyme, and quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR was used to quantify the expression of NEAT1. A comparison between the mean expression of NEAT1 in ovarian tumors and marginal samples showed an increase in NEAT1 expression in tumor tissue that was not statistically significant (P-value = 0.2). ROC curve analysis also showed that NEAT1 expression level might not be an informative biomarker for ovarian cancer.