lncRNA SNHG7 promotes tumorigenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma via epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most common malignant tumors. Studies have indicated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) function as important regulators in progression of tumorigenesis. In this study, lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 7 (SNHG7) was selected to identify how it functioned in the development of NPC. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed to detect SNHG7 expression in paired NPC patient tissue samples and cell lines. The role of SNHG7 in the metastasis of NPC was detected through scratch wound assay and Transwell assay. RT-qPCR and western blot assay were used to discover the function of SNHG7 in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. Tumor metastasis assay was also performed in vivo. In this study, RT-qPCR results showed that SNHG7 expression in NPC samples was remarkably higher when compared with that in adjacent ones. Cell invasion and cell migration of NPC were inhibited due to silence of SNHG7 and were promoted due to overexpression of SNHG7. Moreover, results of further experiments revealed that the EMT-related proteins were regulated via knockdown or overexpression of SNHG7 in NPC. Furthermore, tumor metastasis of NPC was inhibited via knockdown of SNHG7 and was enhanced via overexpression of SNHG7 in nude mice. These results indicate that SNHG7 enhances NPC cell invasion and cell migration by eliciting the EMT process.