LncRNA VPS9D1-AS1 promotes cell proliferation in acute lymphoblastic leukemia through modulating GPX1 expression by miR-491-5p and miR-214-3p evasion

Alterations in messenger RNAs (mRNAs) of protein-coding genes can influence the malignant behaviors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells. According to the prediction from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, we discovered that glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1) was up-regulated in acute myeloid leukemia (LAML) tissues, which pushed us to explore the feasible role and its related modulatory mechanism of GPX1 in ALL. In this research, we first proved the high expression of GPX1 in ALL cells compared with normal cells. Functional assays further revealed that the proliferation was obstructed and the apoptosis was facilitated in ALL cells with silenced GPX1. Then, both miR-491-5p and miR-214-3p that were down-regulated in ALL cells were affirmed to target GPX1. Subsequently, VPS9D1 antisense RNA 1 (VPS9D1-AS1) was recognized as the upstream regulator of miR-491-5p-miR-214-3p/GPX1 axis in a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) model. Importantly, we proved that VPS9D1-AS1 served as a tumor promoter in ALL through elevating GPX1. In conclusion, VPS9D1-AS1 contributed to ALL cell proliferation through miR-491-5p-miR-214-3p/GPX1 axis, hinting an optional choice for the treatment of ALL.