LncRNA WT1-AS downregulates lncRNA UCA1 to suppress non-small cell lung cancer and predicts poor survival

BACKGROUND: LncRNA WT1-AS inhibits gastric cancer, while its role in other cancers is unknown. We investigated the role of WT1-AS in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Sixty-six NSCLC patients (40 males and 26 females; 36 to 68 years old; mean age 52.7 ± 6.4 years old) were selected from the 178 NSCLC patients operated on for lung cancer between 2010 and 2013. RT-qPCR was used to analyze the expression of lncRNA. Overexpression experiments were performed to assess interactions between lncRNAs. CCK-8 assay was carried to evaluate the roles of WT1-AS and UCA1 in regulating cell proliferation. Cell invasion and migration assays were performed to assess the roles of WT1-AS and UCA1 in regulating cell invasion and migration. Western-blot was performed to illustrate the effect of WT1-AS and UCA1 in EMT. RESULTS: WT1-AS was downregulated in NSCLC and was correlated with poor survival. The expression of WT1-AS in NSCLC was not correlated with clinical stages. LncRNA UCA1 was upregulated in cancer tissues and inversely correlated with WT1-AS. Overexpression of UCA1 did not affect WT1-AS, while overexpression of WT1-AS led to inhibited expression of UCA1. Overexpression of UCA1 resulted in increased proliferation, EMT, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells, while overexpression of WT1-AS showed opposite effects. In addition, overexpression of UCA1 inhibited the role of overexpression of WT1-AS. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, overexpression of WT1-AS may inhibit the cell proliferation and EMT to decrease cell migration and invasion of NSCLC cells by downregulating UCA1. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-020-07767-4.