LINC00339 promotes cell proliferation and metastasis in pancreatic cancer via miR-497-5p/IGF1R axis.

PURPOSE

To investigate the role and mechanism of long non-coding (lnc) RNA LINC00339 in pancreatic cancer (PANC), and provided a potential target for its biological diagnosis and treatment.

METHODS

Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of LINC00339 in PANC tissue specimens and cell lines. The experimental cell lines differentially expressing LINC00339 were constructed by using small interfering RNA and lentivirus transfection. Cell proliferation was examined by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation experiments and transwell experiments were used to assess cell invasion and migration abilities. The luciferase assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) were employed to study the target gene for LINC00339, and western blot analysis was utilized to measure protein expression of the downstream gene.

RESULTS

The level of LINC00339 expression in PANC tissues or cells was significantly higher than that in their respective control groups. Interfering expression of LINC00339 could notably inhibit the proliferation, invasion and migration of SW1990 cells, while the over-expressing expression of LINC00339 obviously increased the growth and metastasis abilities of PANC-1 cells. LINC00339 could act as a miR-497-5p sponge, adsorbing miR-497-5p, thereby inhibiting its action by increasing the expression of its target gene IGF1R. The expression of miR-497-5p and its target gene IGF1R could be significantly altered by altering the expression of LINC00339.

CONCLUSIONS

LINC00339 was markedly over-expressed in PANC tissues and cells and promoted cell proliferation, invasion, and migration via sponging miR-497-5p, thereby increasing IGF1R expression. Our study could provide a novel target for PANC diagnosis and biotherapy.