LINC02738 Participates in the Development of Kidney Cancer Through the miR-20b/Sox4 Axis

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) can affect tumorigenesis. Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCAG) suggest that LINC02783 is highly expressed in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and is expected to be a potential biological target. We conducted this study to verify this. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted this study to verify the opinion that “LINC02783 is highly expressed in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and is expected to be a potential biological target”. We employed quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to test LINC02783 expression in RCC tissues, CKK-8 assay and transwell assay to assess the viability and invasion of RCC cells, Western blot to quantify Sox-4 expression, dual-luciferase reporter (DLR) assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay to analyze the interaction between LINC02783 and miR-20b, in vivo experiments to test tumor formation. RESULTS: We detected high LINC02783 expression in RCC patients. Patients with higher LINC02783 levels had a markedly poorer prognosis. In vitro and in vivo, the down-regulation of LINC02783 suppressed the viability and invasion of RCC cells. The DLR assay results revealed that LINC02783 enhanced Sox-4 expression by regulating miR-20b. LINC02783 can act as a sponge for miR-20b to inhibit Sox-4 expression. CONCLUSION: LINC02783 is highly expressed in RCC patients and indicates a poor prognosis. LINC02783 can affect the occurrence and progression of RCC through the miR-20b/Sox-4 axis, making it a promising target for the treatment of RCC.