LncRNA HAND2-AS1 overexpression inhibits cancer cell proliferation in melanoma by downregulating ROCK1

Long non-coding (lnc)RNA heart and neural crest derivatives expressed 2-antisense RNA 1 (HAND2-AS1), an lncRNA antisense transcript adjacent to the heart and neural crest derivatives expressed 2 protein (HAND2), inhibits the development of several types of cancer; however, its role in melanoma is currently unknown. In the present study, it was revealed that lncRNA HAND2-AS1 was downregulated, whereas Rho-associated protein kinase 1 (ROCK1) mRNA was upregulated in tumor tissues when compared with the healthy tissues of patients with melanoma. Expression levels of lncRNA HAND2-AS1 and ROCK1 were inversely correlated in tumor tissues, but not in healthy tissues. LncRNA HAND2-AS1 expression levels were affected by tumor thickness, but not by tumor metastasis. LncRNA HAND2-AS1 overexpression led to inhibited melanoma cancer cell proliferation and an increased expression level of ROCK1. ROCK1 overexpression caused no evident effects on lncRNA HAND2-AS1 expression, but promoted cancer cell proliferation and decreased the effects of lncRNA HAND2-AS1 overexpression on cancer cell proliferation. Thus, it is possible that lncRNA HAND2-AS1 overexpression leads to inhibited cancer cell proliferation in melanoma cells through the downregulation of ROCK1.