Evaluation of the LncRNA TMPO AS-1 Expression Level in Melanoma Tissues in Comparison to Paired Normal Marginal Tissues

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is recognized as an essential controller of gene expression and other activities of the cells. Additionally, lncRNAs have a critical role in the progression and growth of human malignancies, like melanoma. Among lncRNAs, thymopoietin (TMPO)-antisense RNA 1 (TMPO AS- 1) has a significant role in melanoma. The current study aimed to determine the expression level of TMPO AS-1 in melanoma patients. In this case-control research, 50 pairs of tumor and non-tumor tissues of melanoma patients were separated by the surgeon. Subsequently, TMPO AS-1 expression level in the tissues was evaluated. We used TRIzol to extract total RNA from the tumor and non-tumor tissues, following which complementary DNA was synthesized. The TMPO AS-1 expression level of TMPO AS-1 was evaluated via quantitative reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) technique. Moreover, clinicopathological features of the melanoma patients were evaluated. Our findings revealed that TMPO AS-1 expression level was upregulated in the melanoma tissues in comparison with the non-tumor ones. Remarkably, the TMPO AS-1 expression level was considerably correlated to the clinicopathological characteristics of the patients, including lymph nodes and distant metastasis. Upregulation of TMPO AS-1 in melanoma indicated that TMPO AS- 1 and its downstream signal pathways could be used as a new target treatment option and prognostic tumor marker for melanoma.