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

Background: 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. Method: 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. Results: 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. Conclusion: 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.