Long noncoding RNA, ANRIL, regulates the proliferation of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Background/Aim: ANRIL is a long noncoding RNA located on INK4 locus, which encodes p15 and p16 that cause G₁ phase arrest in the cell cycle. ANRIL positively regulates proliferation of several kinds of cancer cells such as lung and gastric cancers. This study, examined the effect of ANRIL in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells. Materials and Methods: Cells were transfected with siRNA oligonucleotides targeting ANRIL. Transfected cells were subjected to cell-cycle and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis. Results: Depletion of ANRIL increased p15 mRNA in FaDu cells, and p15 and p16 mRNA in CAL27 cells and inhibited proliferation of these cells. Cell cycle analysis showed that depletion of ANRIL caused arrest at the G₁ phase of the cell cycle. Conclusion: ANRIL promotes G₁ phase progression by repressing p15 and p16, and thus promotes FaDu and CAL27 cell proliferation.