{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n CASC18 is a long non‐coding RNA that appears to play diverse regulatory roles in both pathological and physiological contexts. In tongue squamous cell carcinoma, CASC18 is up‐regulated—especially in patients with occult lymph node metastasis—and is associated with poorer outcomes. Functionally, it facilitates cell migration and invasion by acting as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) that sequesters miR‑20a‑3p, thus enhancing TGFB2 expression and promoting epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (see."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In the realm of reproductive biology, CASC18 is among the lncRNAs that are abundantly expressed in human metaphase II oocytes. Co‑expression analyses suggest that, along with other oocyte‐enriched lncRNAs, CASC18 may be involved in chromatin remodeling, maintenance of cell pluripotency, and the initiation of early embryonic development."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n CASC18 has also been identified in infectious disease contexts. In COVID‑19 patients, it is differentially expressed and integrated within a network of protein‑coding genes, indicating that it might serve as a potential biomarker associated with the host immune response and protection."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Furthermore, within the 12q23.3 cancer predisposition locus—which also harbors several other genes involved in cancer risk—CASC18 exists as multiple splice variants. Notably, the CASC18‑D variant is predominantly expressed in neural cell lines and is up‑regulated during neuronal differentiation, with its overexpression leading to an increased level of PAX6, a key neural differentiation marker."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In summary, CASC18 functions in a tissue‐ and condition‑specific manner: it contributes to tumor progression in oral cancer via modulation of EMT, potentially influences early developmental processes in the reproductive system, may serve as an indicator of immune status in viral infections, and participates in neural differentiation through its alternatively spliced variants.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Bo Zhou, Yue Zhou, Ying Liu, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Association of CASC18/miR-20a-3p/TGFB2 ceRNA axis with occult lymph node metastasis in tongue squamous cell carcinoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Med (2021)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1186/s10020-021-00345-9"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s10020-021-00345-9"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "34362313"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34362313"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Julien Bouckenheimer, Patricia Fauque, Charles-Henri Lecellier, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Differential long non-coding RNA expression profiles in human oocytes and cumulus cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Sci Rep (2018)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/s41598-018-20727-0"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-20727-0"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "29396444"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29396444"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Chiranjib Chakraborty, Ashish Ranjan Sharma, Manojit Bhattacharya, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Understanding Gene Expression and Transcriptome Profiling of COVID-19: An Initiative Towards the Mapping of Protective Immunity Genes Against SARS-CoV-2 Infection."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Front Immunol (2021)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.3389/fimmu.2021.724936"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.724936"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "34975833"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34975833"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Majid Mehravar, Meisam Jafarzadeh, Maryam Kay, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Introduction of novel splice variants for CASC18 gene and its relation to the neural differentiation."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Gene (2017)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.gene.2016.12.008"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gene.2016.12.008"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "27956168"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27956168"}]}]}]}