Long non‐coding RNA KDM5B anti‐sense RNA 1 enhances tumor progression in non‐small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: The long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown as a novel class of transcripts with no protein coding functions. LncRNAs can play diverse roles in cancer cell proliferation, differentiation, metastasis, and apoptosis. However, the exact contributions of lncRNA KDM5B anti‐sense RNA 1 (KDM5BAS1) to non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain poorly understood. METHODS: In current study, we have unraveled a novel function of KDM5BAS1 in NSCLC. RESULTS: We found that KDM5BAS1 was significantly overexpressed in tumor specimens and selected cancerous cell lines. Meanwhile, higher KDM5BAS1 expression predicted poor overall survival. Increased KDM5BAS1 expression can promote proliferation or migration and inhibit apoptosis in H1838 and H1299 cells. Furthermore, knocking down of KDM5BAS1 levels can also reduce tumor growth in in vivo implantation experiments. Overexpression of KDM5BAS1 also decreased the caspase‐3 immunostaining but enhanced Ki‐67 staining. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our findings indicated that KDM5BAS1 might play an oncogenic role in NSCLC and provided clues into pharmacological intervention targeting KDM5BAS1.