{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,11]],"date-time":"2026-07-11T05:13:01Z","timestamp":1783746781322,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,3]],"date-time":"2026-07-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783036800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["81672652"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["81672652"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Characterized by its highly aggressive behavior and propensity for metastasis, osteosarcoma remains a formidable clinical challenge with restricted treatment modalities. Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) are widely recognized as central orchestrators of oncogenic progression and therapeutic intractability; however, the precise epigenetic regulations governing these processes are yet to be fully elucidated. Here, we investigated the role of the long non-coding RNA DANCR in regulating osteosarcoma stemness. DANCR expression was significantly upregulated in human osteosarcoma tissues and positively correlated with the stemness markers CD133, SOX2, and CD90. Functional assays demonstrated that DANCR overexpression enhanced stem-like properties, including an enriched CD133+\/CD44+ cellular fraction and enhanced spheroid-forming capacity, concurrently accelerating in vitro cellular proliferation, migration, and invasive potential. In a xenograft mouse model, DANCR upregulation promoted in vivo tumor growth and lung metastasis. Mechanistically, dual-luciferase reporter assays and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) revealed that DANCR acts as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by sponging miR-145-5p, thereby facilitating the de-repression of CD133 and contributing to Akt\/mTOR signaling activation. In addition, DANCR\/miR-145-5p modulation was associated with changes in autophagy-associated markers. Collectively, these findings identify the DANCR\/miR-145-5p\/CD133 axis as a regulator of osteosarcoma stemness and progression, providing new insights into tumor biology and highlighting a potential molecular target for therapeutic investigation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells15131215","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,3]],"date-time":"2026-07-03T14:33:06Z","timestamp":1783089186000},"page":"1215","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The DANCR\/miR-145-5p\/CD133 Axis Drives Osteosarcoma Stemness and Progression: Implications for Tumor Biology and Therapeutic Innovation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Wei-Ting","family":"Cheng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oncology, Integrated TCM & Western Medicine Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cai-Hong","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jun","family":"Qi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ya-Ping","family":"Ye","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xing","family":"Bao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qi","family":"Mei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jia-Chao","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kai","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1531","DOI":"10.1002\/cncr.24121","article-title":"Osteosarcoma incidence and survival rates from 1973 to 2004: Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program","volume":"115","author":"Mirabello","year":"2009","journal-title":"Cancer"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"593","DOI":"10.1016\/j.canep.2015.05.001","article-title":"Prognostic factors for survival in patients with high-grade osteosarcoma using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program database","volume":"39","author":"Duchman","year":"2015","journal-title":"Cancer Epidemiol."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"158","DOI":"10.1016\/j.canlet.2012.05.028","article-title":"Perspectives on cancer stem cells in osteosarcoma","volume":"338","author":"Basilico","year":"2013","journal-title":"Cancer Lett."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"268","DOI":"10.1016\/j.canlet.2015.11.003","article-title":"Advances in osteosarcoma stem cell research and opportunities for novel therapeutic targets","volume":"370","author":"Yan","year":"2016","journal-title":"Cancer Lett."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"153","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ccr.2008.01.013","article-title":"Significance of CD90+ cancer stem cells in human liver cancer","volume":"13","author":"Yang","year":"2008","journal-title":"Cancer Cell"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Reiche, K., Kasack, K., Schreiber, S., L\u00fcders, T., Due, E.U., Naume, B., Riis, M., Kristensen, V.N., Horn, F., and B\u00f8rresen-Dale, A.L. 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