Docetaxel and Gemcitabine Modulate Cellular Effects and Long Non-Coding RNA Profiles in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Lung cancer remains the most prevalent and deadliest malignancy worldwide. According to the European Society for Medical Oncology guidelines for non-oncogene-addicted metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), patients with metastatic squamous-cell carcinoma (LUSC) or metastatic non-squamous NSCLC with performance status 2 and PD-L1 < 50% may receive single-agent chemotherapy with gemcitabine (GEM), docetaxel (DOC), or vinorelbine. Herein, we investigated the cellular effects of GEM/DOC as monotherapies in NSCLC cell lines—lung adenocarcinoma, A549 and CALU6; LUSC, H520 and H1703. Treatment with GEM/DOC may induce apoptotic cell death in all NSCLC cell lines at 48 h. GEM/DOC can affect cancer cell migration assessed by scratch assay. Both GEM/DOC may produce distinct effects on cell cycle arrest, consistent with their particular pharmacodynamic effects. Furthermore, GEM/DOC induced signals consistent with autophagic activity in LUSC cell lines, but only GEM triggered signals consistent with autophagic activity in the CALU6 cell line. Analysis of three key long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)—MALAT1, NEAT1, and HOTAIR—showed variable expression in the studied cell lines as a potential response to DOC and GEM treatment. Our findings indicate different cellular effects of GEM and DOC in NSCLC cell lines and provide an overview of how currently used chemotherapeutics may influence the expression of lncRNAs.