Long non-coding RNA TUG1 promotes osteosarcoma cell proliferation and invasion through inhibition of microRNA-212-3p expression

Taurine upregulated gene 1 (TUG1), a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), has recently been suggested to be associated with the development of osteosarcoma (OS), but the underlying molecular mechanism still remains largely unclear. In the present study, it was revealed that TUG1 was significantly upregulated whereas miR-212-3p was significantly downregulated in OS tissues and cell lines, when compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues and normal osteoblasts cell lines, respectively. An inverse association between the TUG1 and miR-212-3p expression was also observed in OS tissues. Furthermore, TUG1 directly interacted with miR-212-3p and negatively regulated the expression of miR-212-3p in OS cells. In vitro experiments further indicated that inhibition of TUG1 suppressed the proliferation and invasion of OS cells. Furthermore, knockdown of miR-212-3p eliminated the suppressive effects of TUG1 inhibition on the proliferation and invasion of OS cells. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that TUG1 promotes OS cell proliferation and invasion by inhibition of miR-212-3p expression, thus suggesting that TUG1 may become a potential therapeutic target for OS.