Fig. 1: ZNFTR downregulated in PC, impaired proliferative, migrative, and invasive abilities of PC cells in vitro and in vivo.

A Microarray analysis showed the differential expression of lncRNAs between two PC tissues and paired noncancerous pancreatic tissues. B Northern blot demonstrated the existence of lncRNA-ZNFTR in BxPC-3 and PANC-1 cells. C RNA-FISH assay detected the distribution of lncRNA-ZNFTR in BxPC-3 and PANC-1 cells in green. The nucleus was stained by DAPI in blue. D The expression levels of ZNFTR in 48 PC and NP tissues were assessed by qRT-PCR. NP: paired noncancerous pancreatic, PC: pancreatic cancer. E Overall survival analysis in 48 patients with PC was shown by the Kaplan–Meier curve. Forty-eight patients were separated into “HIGH” and “LOW” two groups according to the expression levels of ZNFTR at the median. F The proliferation of PANC-1 cells overexpressed ZNFTR or vector was assessed via CCK-8 assays for 5 days. G The overexpression of ZNFTR in PANC-1 cells showed lower proliferative ability through colony formation assay. Below histograms in (G) represented the relative colony number. Five microscopic fields were selected randomly and averaged. H, I Wound healing and Transwell assay were conducted to assess the migrative and invasive abilities of PANC-1 cells. Below histograms in (H) and below histogram in (I) represented the relative wound size and relative invaded cell numbers, respectively. Five fields were selected randomly and averaged. J–L PANC-1 cells were transfected by lentivirus containing a sequence of ZNFTR (LV-ZNFTR) or empty lentivirus vector (LV-Vector) and subcutaneously injected into both sides of nude mice (5 × 10⁶ cells per injection point). K The volume of transplanted tumors was measured by Vernier caliper every 3 days. L After 24 days, the nude mice were sacrificed. The solid tumors were peeled off and the weight was measured by electronic balance. All data were revealed as means ± standard deviation (SD) for no less than three independent experiments. Significant P values showed as *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001.