Long noncoding RNA LINC00515 promotes cell proliferation and inhibits apoptosis by sponging miR-16 and activating PRMT5 expression in human glioma

Introduction: In recent years, an increasing amount of literature has demonstrated the functional role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in human diseases. LINC00515 is a newly defined lncRNA and is reported to act as an oncogene in multiple myeloma. However, the function of LINC00515 in glioma is still uncertain. Materials and methods: We examined the expression levels of LINC00515 in human glioma tissues and cell lines using real-time PCR analysis. In addition, we confirmed the distribution of LINC00515 in glioma cells and suppressed LINC00515 expression with siRNAs. CCK-8, colony formation assay and apoptosis analysis were used to study the function of LINC00515 in glioma progression. Then, we used bioinformatics prediction and subsequent experiments to reveal the underlying molecular mechanism. Results: We found that LINC00515 was up-regulated in glioma tissues and cell lines. LINC00515 was mainly located in the cytoplasm in glioma cells. Knockdown of LINC00515 led to decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis of glioma cells. Mechanistically, our data indicated that there was a LINC00515/miR-16/PRMT5 regulatory axis in glioma. LINC00515 could activate PRMT5 expression and promote glioma progression by acting as a sponge of miR-16. Conclusion: LINC00515 expression is elevated in human glioma and promotes growth and inhibits apoptosis of glioma cells. The regulatory cascade LINC00515/miR-16/PRMT5 plays a critical role in glioma progression.