Knockdown of long non-coding RNA NEAT1 inhibits glioma cell migration and invasion via modulation of SOX2 targeted by miR-132

BACKGROUND: A better understanding of the molecular mechanism involving lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network underlying glioma genesis is beneficial to the treatment of glioma. This study was designed to investigate the role of lncRNA NEAT1, miR-132 and SOX2 interaction in glioma. METHODS: Microarray analysis was conducted to identify the differentially expressed lncRNAs in glioma tissues. The expression levels of NEAT1, miR-132 and SOX2 were determined by qRT-PCR and western blot. Proliferation of glioma cells was detected by MTT assay, while migration and invasion were determined by transwell assay. The target relationships were predicted by miRcode algorithm, and confirmed by dual luciferase reporter gene assay. RESULTS: NEAT1 was up-regulated in glioma. Knockdown of NEAT1 inhibited glioma cells’ viability, migration and invasion. MiR-132 was down-regulated while SOX2 was up-regulated in glioma cells. NEAT1 negatively regulated the expression of miR-132 in glioma while miR-132 targeted SOX2 to down-regulate its expression. CONCLUSION: NEAT1 promoted glioma development by promoting SOX2 expression through suppressing miR-132. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12943-018-0849-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.