Co-expression of HOTAIR long noncoding RNA and Tbx3 transcription factor in breast cancer tissues

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most prevalent neoplasia worldwide. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have potential regulatory roles in different cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible correlation between HOTAIR (Hox transcript antisense intergenic RNA) and TBX3 (T-box transcription factor 3) expressions as both are located at Chromosome 12, as two known BC biomarkers. Methods: Quantitative real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) was used to assess the expression levels of TBX3 and HOTAIR on 25 pair of tumor-normal breast tissues from BC patients. In silico tools were utilized to determine putative miRNAs targeting TBX3 as well as miRNAs targeted by HOTAIR lncRNA. Results: Statistical analysis showed significant tissue overexpression of HOTAIR and Tbx3 in BC patients compared with the control samples (p = 0.001 and 0.042 respectively). Pearson analysis showed that the expression profiles of HOTAIR and TBX3 were correlated in these patients (p = 0.015). Binary regression logistic analysis revealed the potential use of the combination of TBX3 and HOTAIR expression as an independent diagnostic factor (p = 0.02 and 0.04, respectively) in BC patients. In silico analysis revealed eight common miRNAs between HOTAIR and Tbx3. Conclusion: Results indicated correlated overexpression levels of both HOTAIR and TBX3 in breast tissues of BC patients. Moreover, bioinformatics data showed a possible mediatory role for miRNAs between HOTAIR and TBX3 RNA levels, which may possibly contribute to the development of cancer.