High expression of enhancer RNA MARC1 or its activation by DHT is associated with the malignant behavior in bladder cancer

Enhancer RNAs (eRNAs), a subclass of noncoding RNA from enhancers, have biological functions in gene expression. However, their potential role in bladder cancer (BCa) remains largely unknown. The present study investigated the functional role of androgen-associated androgen receptor (AR) mediated-eRNA MARC1 (eMARC1) in BCa progression. Cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of BCa cell lines (5637 and T24) with different eMARC1 expression levels or treated with 5α-dehydrotestosterone (DHT) were investigated. In the current study, we discovered that eMARC1 was highly expressed in BCa tissues and cell lines, and eMARC1 overexpression promoted the progression of BCa cells, while knockdown of eMARC1 suppressed tumorigenesis. DHT treatment significantly elevated eMARC1 expression levels, which also facilitated cell proliferation, motility, and inhibited cell apoptosis. We further found that eMARC1 silencing impaired the androgenic effect of DHT in BCa cells. These results suggested that eMARC1 exerted its effects on BCa cell progression, and DHT promoted bladder cancer progression by activating eMARC1.