Snhg18, short for small nucleolar RNA host gene 18, is a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) with significant biological importance. It is involved in multiple cellular processes and disease-related pathways. For instance, it participates in cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, and cell motility, influencing various diseases such as cancer and vascular diseases [1-10].

In bladder cancer, Snhg18 is downregulated in tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of Snhg18 inhibits cancer cell proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. It acts by destabilizing c-Myc protein, which in turn increases p21 transcription, leading to G0-G1 arrest [1]. In hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma, downregulated Snhg18 suppresses disease progression and serves as a prognostic biomarker [2]. In non-small cell lung cancer, MKL1 promotes Snhg18 expression. Snhg18 upregulation is related to lymph node metastasis and poor overall survival, and it drives cancer growth and metastasis via the miR-211-5p/BRD4 axis [4]. In glioma, Snhg18 promotes cell motility by disrupting α-Enolase nucleocytoplasmic transport and also promotes radioresistance by repressing Semaphorin 5A [5,6]. In vascular diseases, Snhg18 controls vascular smooth muscle cell contractile phenotype and neointimal hyperplasia by up-regulating miR-22-3p [3].

In conclusion, Snhg18 plays diverse and crucial roles in different biological processes and disease conditions. Its study through various in vitro and in vivo models, especially in cancer and vascular diseases, has provided valuable insights into its functions, potentially guiding the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

References:

1. Ke, Meixia, Sun, Ning, Lin, Zhenni, Lu, Yongyong, Jin, Honglei. 2023. SNHG18 inhibits bladder cancer cell proliferation by increasing p21 transcription through destabilizing c-Myc protein. In Cancer cell international, 23, 48. doi:10.1186/s12935-023-02887-w. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36927398/

2. Song, Wenqi, Zhang, Xuemei, Feng, Lin, Li, Tongtong, Zhang, Pengxia. 2022. Downregulated lncRNA SNHG18 Suppresses the Progression of Hepatitis B Virus-Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Meditates the Antitumor Effect of Oleanolic Acid. In Cancer management and research, 14, 687-695. doi:10.2147/CMAR.S346920. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35221722/

3. Niu, Kaiyuan, Zhang, Chengxin, Yang, Mei, Ge, Shenglin, Xiao, Qingzhong. . Small nucleolar RNA host gene 18 controls vascular smooth muscle cell contractile phenotype and neointimal hyperplasia. In Cardiovascular research, 120, 796-810. doi:10.1093/cvr/cvae055. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38498586/

4. Fan, Huijie, Yuan, Jing, Li, Yaqing, Wang, Xiaofeng, Li, Xingya. 2021. MKL1-induced lncRNA SNHG18 drives the growth and metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer via the miR-211-5p/BRD4 axis. In Cell death & disease, 12, 128. doi:10.1038/s41419-021-03399-z. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33500406/

5. Zheng, Rong, Yao, Qiwei, Li, XiaoBo, Xu, Benhua. 2019. Long Noncoding Ribonucleic Acid SNHG18 Promotes Glioma Cell Motility via Disruption of α-Enolase Nucleocytoplasmic Transport. In Frontiers in genetics, 10, 1140. doi:10.3389/fgene.2019.01140. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31798634/

6. Zheng, Rong, Yao, Qiwei, Ren, Chen, Yang, Kaijun, Yuan, Yawei. 2016. Upregulation of Long Noncoding RNA Small Nucleolar RNA Host Gene 18 Promotes Radioresistance of Glioma by Repressing Semaphorin 5A. In International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 96, 877-887. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2016.07.036. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27788958/