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Abstract
NEAT2 is a long ncRNA overexpressed in a various type of cancer. However, whether
NEAT2 directly impacts on carcinogenesis remains poorly investigated. Here, we report the role
of NEAT2 and its functional domains on proliferation and energy metabolism of hepatocytes. In
this study, we show a significant decrease in proliferation (14-35%) after knocked-down or
knockout of NEAT2 expression in both human hepatocytes and mouse embryonic fibroblasts. On
the other hand, we observed a significant increase in proliferation (27-33%) in mice hepatocytes
overexpressing NEAT2 and the mascRNA domain. The overexpression of the mascRNA domain
also resulted in a significant increase in cellular glucose uptake, suggesting a role in glucose
utilization. Our study highlights the significance of NEAT2 and its mascRNA domain in cellular
proliferation and glucose metabolism. These data suggest an important role for the mascRNA
domain in the regulation of hepatocyte proliferation by NEAT2.