Role of FOXN3 and long noncoding RNA NEAT1 as potential predisposing factors for development of Helicobacter pylori-associated

Background: Infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a common illness associated with different complications that range from gastritis to gastric cancer. Numerous genetic and epigenetic modifications of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes play a role in gastric cancer development. We investigated the role of Forkhead box N3 (FOXN3), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) in the development of gastric adenocarcinoma and their correlation to H. pylori infection. Methods: Endoscopic gastric samples were taken from 200 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms and subjected to histopathological examination. The gastric samples were tested for H. pylori using H. pylori Quick test, immunohistochemistry, and qRT-PCR. The expression levels of the FOXN3 and lncRNAs NEAT1 were measured by qRT-PCR. Forty-seven patients tested positive for H. pylori infection. Based on the histopathological examination, these patients were categorized into two groups; the gastritis group (29 patients) and the gastric cancer group (18 patients). Results: Our findings revealed a statistically significant drop in FOXN3 gene expression in gastric cancer patients compared to patients with gastritis. lncRNA NEAT1 was found to be considerably higher in gastric cancer tissues compared to gastritis tissues. Conclusion: Our findings revealed that FOXN3 might be considered a tumor suppressor gene while lncRNA NEAT1 may act as a promoter of tumorigenesis in H. pylori-associated gastric cancer.