PiR-hsa-4447944 serves as an oncogenic mediator in prostate cancer and promotes the development of castration resistance by inhibiting NEFH expression

PiR-hsa-4447944 showed a significantly higher expression level in both CRPC tissues and CRPC cell lines. Functionally, piR-hsa-4447944 overexpression conferred, whereas piR-hsa-4447944 suppression inhibited castration resistance ability in vitro and in vivo. Enforced piR-hsa-4447944 expression in vitro promoted PCa cells migration and invasion, as well as reduced cell apoptosis. To explore the potential targets of piR-hsa-4447944, two PCa cells 22RV1 and LNCaP were transfected with control or piR-hsa-4447944 mimic, and then the extracted total RNA was used for mRNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis.