The role of long intergenic non-coding RNA for kinase activation (LINK-A) as an oncogene in non-small cell lung carcinoma.

The oncogenic role of long intergenic non-coding RNA for kinase activation (LINK-A) has been appraised in triple-negative breast cancer. However, the molecular function of LINK-A is still unclear in most cancers including lung cancer. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of down-regulation of LINK-A in A549 and Calu-3 cell lines as cellular models of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). We used the RNA interference system to knock down LINK-A. LINK-A expression was significantly reduced by siRNA transfection in A549 and Calu-3 cell lines. LINK-A down-regulation significantly reduced cell viability, colony-forming ability and cell migration, as measured by MTT, colony formation and invasion assays. Finally, cell cycle analysis and Annexin-V/7AAD staining indicated that apoptosis was influenced by LINK-A silencing. Taken together, LINK-A can be proposed as an oncogene in NSCLC.