LncRNA RP11-116G8.5 promotes the progression of lung squamous cell carcinoma through sponging miR-3150b-3p/miR-6870-5p to upregulate PHF12/FOXP4.

Abstract Background Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is one of the commonest malignancies worldwide. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been revealed to engage in cancer development. LncRNA RP11-116G8.5 is a new founded lncRNA that has not been clearly elucidated in LUSC. Materials and methods Expression levels of RNAs in LUSC cells were measured through qRT-PCR. To identify the functions of RP11-116G8.5, CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay and EdU assay were conducted in indicated LUSC cells. Mechanism experiments, including RNA pull down assay, Ago2-RIP assay and luciferase reporter assay were performed to demonstrate the interaction between RP11-116G8.5 and miR-3150b-3p/miR-6870-5p. Meanwhile, the interaction between miR-3150b-3p/miR-6870-5p and their downstream targets PHD finger protein 12 (PHF12), and forkhead box P4 (FOXP4) were also proven in the same methods. Results RP11–116G8.5 was expressed at high level in LUSC cell lines. Down-regulated RP11–116G8.5 repressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion, but accelerated apoptosis. Furthermore, it was proven that RP11-116G8.5 could act as sponges for miR-3150b-3p and miR-6870-5p these miRNAs were found to act as cancer suppressors in LUSC cells. PHF12 and FOXP4 were verified as the target gene of miR-3150b-3p and miR-6870-5p separately. Overexpression of PHF12 and FOXP4 could reverse the repressive effect of RP11-116G8.5 knockdown on LUSC progression. Additionally, Paired Box 5 (PAX-5) was proven to be the transcription factor for RP11–116G8.5 in LUSC cells. Conclusions LncRNA RP11-116G8.5 promotes malignant behaviors of LUSC through sponging miR-3150b-3p/miR-6870-5p to upregulate PHF12/FOXP4 expression. Availability of data The research data is confidential.