LncRNA LINC00511 plays an oncogenic role in lung adenocarcinoma by regulating PKM2 expression via sponging miR‐625‐5p

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma (LAC) is the most prominent histological subtype of non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a high rate of mortality and metastasis. Accumulating evidence has shown that long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play malfunctioning roles in the development of human tumors. Hence, this study aimed to determine the biological function of LINC00511 in LAC and to provide a novel diagnostic and therapeutic target for it. METHODS: LINC00511 expression in LAC tissues and cell lines (H1299 and A549) were detected by real time‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR). Cell counting kit‐8 (CCK‐8) assay was employed to analyze cell proliferative ability. Cell metastasis change was measured using transwell assay. Moreover, we revealed a novel target gene of LINC00511 and elucidated the underlying competitive endogenous RNA regulatory mechanism in LAC cells. RESULTS: Data from our study demonstrated that LINC00511 expression was increased in LAC tissues and cells in comparison to their corresponding controls. Moreover, overexpression of LINC00511 indicated the poor prognosis of LAC patients. Overexpression of LINC00511 promoted proliferation, invasion and migration capacities of LAC cells. Moreover, LINC00511 promoted LAC progression via serving as a sponge of miR‐625‐5p and regulating PKM2 expression. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that LINC00511 was involved in LAC progression by targeting miR‐625‐5p/PKM2, indicating that LINC00511/miR‐625‐5p/PKM2 may function as promising therapeutic targets for LAC.