LncRNA FTX activates FOXA2 expression to inhibit non-small-cell lung cancer proliferation and metastasis.

Lung cancer leads to the highest mortality among all cancer types in the world, and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) occupies over 80% of the lung cancer cases. Numerous studies have demonstrated that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is involved in various human diseases including cancer. LncRNA FTX was firstly identified in Xist gene locus and was dysregulated in many human cancers. However, the function of FTX in NSCLC is still unclear. Here, we report that long non-coding RNA FTX expression level is down-regulated in NSCLC clinical tissue samples and cell lines. Ectopic expression of FTX inhibits proliferation and metastasis of lung cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we find that FTX overexpression activates the expression of transcription factor FOXA2, an important regulator in lung cancer progression, and we reveal a novel FTX/miR-200a-3p/FOXA2 competing endogenous RNA regulatory axis in lung cancer cells. Our results provide new insights and directions for exploring the function of FTX in lung cancer progression.