The lncRNA MIR4435-2HG promotes lung cancer progression by activating β-catenin signalling

Recently, emerging evidence has suggested that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have crucial roles in cancer progression. Here, we demonstrated that the lncRNA MIR4435-2HG was highly expressed in lung cancer tissues and correlated with histological grades and lymph node metastasis. Phenotypic analysis indicated that MIR4435-2HG knockdown inhibited lung cancer cell proliferation and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Notably, MIR4435-2HG knockdown suppressed the EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition) process and cancer stem cell traits of lung cancer cells. Mechanistically, MIR4435-2HG knockdown decreased the transactivation of β-catenin. MIR4435-2HG interacted with β-catenin and thus prevented its degradation by the proteasome system. Our findings highlight the important roles and mechanisms of MIR4435-2HG in lung cancer progression. High expression of lncRNA MIR4435-2HG correlates with lung cancer progression MIR4435-2HG promotes lung cancer cells proliferation and invasion MIR4435-2HG knockdown suppresses the EMT process and cancer stem cell traits MIR4435-2HG knockdown inhibits the β-catenin signalling.