Abstract / Summary
Objective: This work aimed to investigate whether lncRNA-MEG3 regulates ZEB2 expression and thereby modulates proliferation, migration, and apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer tissues and primary TNBC cells. Methods: MEG3 and ZEB2 expression were measured by RT-PCR and Western blot in triple-negative breast cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues and in primary TNBC cells, and the effects of MEG3 knockdown and overexpression on cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis were evaluated using MTT, wound-healing, and flow cytometry assays. Results: In 48 triple-negative breast cancer specimens, MEG3 expression was significantly reduced and ZEB2 expression was increased compared with adjacent normal tissues ( P < 0.05). MEG3 overexpression in primary TNBC cells decreased ZEB2 levels, reduced cell proliferation and migration, and increased apoptosis, whereas MEG3 knockdown had the opposite effects ( P < 0.05). Conclusions: LncRNA-MEG3 is downregulated and ZEB2 is upregulated in triple-negative breast cancer. Increasing MEG3 expression suppresses ZEB2, inhibits TNBC cell proliferation and migration, and promotes apoptosis, supporting a tumor-suppressive role of MEG3 in this subtype. These results identify MEG3 as a potential biomarker and experimental target within the MEG3/ZEB2 axis for the development of novel therapeutic strategies in triple-negative breast cancer.