LncRNA UCA1 facilitated cell growth and invasion through the miR-206/CLOCK axis in glioma

BACKGROUND: Glioma is a lethal malignant brain tumor, which affects the brain functions and is life-threatening. LncRNA UCA1 was identified as a pivotal regulator for tumorigenesis of glioma. MiR-206 was discovered to promote tumorigenesis and is critical in the regulation of cell proliferation in glioma. This study will discuss the expression of UCA1 regarding miR-206 and CLOCK, and their integrative effects in the proliferation and cell cycle of glioma cells. METHODS: qRT-PCR was conducted to measure the mRNA expressions of IgG and Ago2 in cells co-transfected with UCA1, and miR-216 in U251. Bioinformation was analyzed for the prediction of association between UCA1 and miR-206. Transwell migrations assays and invasion assays were utilized to observe the cell invasive ability. Western blot and immunofluorescence imaging were used to examine the protein expressions. In vivo comparisons and observations were also performed to investigate the role of UCA1 in glioma growth. RESULTS: LncRNA UCA1 was up-regulated in glioma cell lines and tissues. It elevated cell invasion via the inducing of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. We found that UCA1 can modulate miR-206 expression and serve as an endogenous sponge of miR-206. The EMT-inducer CLOCK was validated as a messenger RNA target of miR-206. At last, we demonstrated that UCA1 exerted the biology function through regulating miR-206 and CLOCK in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the results demonstrated that UCA1/miR-206/CLOCK axis participated in the progressing of glioma and could act as a promising therapeutic target.