LncRNA DGCR5 promotes non-small cell lung cancer progression via sponging miR-218-5p.

OBJECTIVE: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most ordinary malignant tumors worldwide. Recent researches have proved that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play vital roles in many diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the exact function of lncRNA DiGeorge syndrome critical region gene 5 (DGCR5) in the development of NSCLC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Real Time-quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) was utilized to detect DGCR5 expression in paired NSCLC patients' tissue samples and cell lines. The function of DGCR5 in NSCLC was detected through wound healing assay and transwell assay in vitro. Besides, mechanism assays were conducted to observe the interaction between DGCR5 and microRNA-218-5p (miR-218-5p). RESULTS: DGCR5 was remarkably highly expressed in NSCLC tissues compared to that of adjacent normal tissues. The migration and invasion of NSCLC cells were significantly promoted via overexpression of DGCR5. However, the silence of DGCR5 significantly inhibited NSCLC cell migration and invasion. Moreover, RT-qPCR results revealed that miR-218-5p was down-regulated via overexpression of DGCR5, while miR-218-5p was up-regulated after the knockdown of DGCR5. Further experiments showed that miR-218-5p was a direct target of DGCR5 in NSCLC. CONCLUSIONS: DGCR5 enhances NSCLC cell migration and invasion via targeting miR-218-5p, indicating that DGCR5 may be a potential therapeutic target in NSCLC.