LncRNA FLVCR1-AS1 accelerates osteosarcoma cells to proliferate, migrate and invade via activating wnt/β-catenin pathway.

PURPOSE To clarify the biological function of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) FLVCR1-AS1 in the progression of osteosarcoma. METHODS The correlation between FLVCR1-AS1 level and pathological indexes of osteosarcoma patients was analyzed by chi-square test. Subsequently, the regulatory effects of FLVCR1-AS1 on the proliferative, migratory and invasive abilities of osteosarcoma cells were evaluated. Moreover, the relative levels of CTNNB1, SOX4, CCND1, CCND2 and MYC in osteosarcoma cells regulated by FLVCR1-AS1 were detected by qRT-PCR. Finally, rescue experiments were conducted to verify the role of wnt/β-catenin in osteosarcoma progression. RESULTS LncRNA FLVCR1-AS1 was upregulated in osteosarcoma, which was positively correlated to tumor size, WHO grade and distant metastasis, but negatively correlated to survival of osteosarcoma patients. Overexpression of FLVCR1-AS1 markedly suppressed osteosarcoma cells to proliferate, migrate and invade. Relative levels of CTNNB1, SOX4, CCND1, CCND2, MYC and nucleus β-catenin were upregulated in U2OS and MG63 cells overexpressing FLVCR1-AS1. Finally, CTNNB1 knockdown was identified to reverse the influence of overexpressed FLVCR1-AS1 of osteosarcoma cells. CONCLUSIONS FLVCR1-AS1 accelerates the progression of osteosarcoma via activating wnt/β-catenin pathway.