A novel 7-hypoxia-related long non-coding RNA signature associated with prognosis and proliferation in melanoma

Hypoxia-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important indicators of the poor prognosis of cancers. The present study aimed to explore the potential relationship between melanoma and hypoxia-related lncRNAs. The transcriptome and clinical data of patients with melanoma were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The prognostic hypoxia-related lncRNAs were screened out using Pearson's correlation test and univariate Cox analysis. As a result, a hypoxia-related-lncRNA signature based on the expression of 7 lncRNAs was constructed, with one unfavourable [MIR205 host gene (MIR205HG)] and six favourable (T cell receptor beta variable 11-2, HLA-DQB1 antisense RNA 1, AL365361.1, AC004847.1, ubiquitin specific peptidase 30 antisense RNA 1 and AC022706.1) lncRNAs as prognostic factors for melanoma. Patients with melanoma were divided into high- and low-risk groups based on the risk score obtained. Survival analyses were performed to assess the prognostic value of the present risk model. Potential tumour-associated biological pathways associated with the present signature were explored using gene set enrichment analysis. The CIBERSORT algorithm demonstrated the important role of the hypoxia-related lncRNAs in regulating tumour-infiltrating immune cells. Clinical samples collected from our center partly confirmed our findings. Cell Counting Kit-8 and flow cytometry assays indicated the suppression of proliferation of melanoma cells following inhibition of MIR205HG expression. Indicators of the canonical Wnt/beta-catenin signalling pathway were detected by western blotting. The present study demonstrated that MIR205HG could promote melanoma cell proliferation partly via the canonical Wnt/beta-catenin signalling pathway. These findings indicated a 7-hypoxia-related-lncRNA signature that can serve as a novel predictor of melanoma prognosis.