Long noncoding RNA LINC00641 promotes renal cell carcinoma progression via sponging microRNA-340-5p

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidences have revealed that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have played critical roles in tumor occurrence and progression. LINC00641 has been reported to be involved in the initiation and development of several cancers in the recent years. However, the detailed biological role of LINC00641 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains largely unclear. METHODS: In this study, the expression and biological function of LINC00641 were assessed in renal carcinoma both in vitro and in vivo. Cell proliferation, migration and colony formation assay were performed to explore the effect of LINC00641on growth, progression and invasion of RCC cell. qRT-PCR, flow cytometry and luciferase reporter assay and in vivo tumorigenicity assay were also carried out. RESULTS: The expression of LINC00641 was overexpressed in RCC tissues and cell lines, and high LINC00641 expression was correlated with tumor-node-metastasis stage. Furthermore, Silencing of LINC00641 remarkably inhibited the ability of cell proliferation, colony formation, and invasive capacities, as well as increasing the apoptotic rates of RCC cells in vitro. Mechanistically, miR-340-5p was validated to be targeted by LINC00641 and knockdown of miR-340-5p counteracted LINC00641 silencing-mediated inhibition of RCC progression. In addition, in vivo experiment confirmed the findings discovered in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that LINC00641 promoted the progression of RCC by sponging miR-340-5p.