Effects of lncRNA ANRIL-knockdown on the proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle of gastric cancer cells

Gastric cancer is one of the most common types of malignant tumor of the gastrointestinal tract worldwide. Cisplatin (DDP) is a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug in the clinic; however, the resistance of gastric cancer cells to DDP limits its efficacy. In the present study, drug-resistant gastric cancer cell lines were constructed using the stepwise continuous selection method, and the relative expression levels of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) CDKN2B antisense RNA 1 (ANRIL) and microRNA (miR)-181a-5p were detected using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. The knockdown of lncRNA ANRIL and miR-181a-5p expression was performed by transfection with shRNA-ANRIL and an miR-181a-5p inhibitor, respectively. Cellular proliferation and sensitivity to DDP were assessed using Cell Counting Kit-8 analysis. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were assessed using flow cytometry and western blotting. The binding relationships between ANRIL, miR-181a-5p and cyclin G1 (CCNG1) were verified using a dual luciferase reporter assay. The results revealed that the expression levels of miR-181a-5p were downregulated in all drug-resistant cell lines. ANRIL-knockdown inhibited cellular proliferation, and promoted apoptosis and cell cycle arrest; however, following the knockdown of miR-181a-5p, the inhibition of cell cycle arrest was alleviated. Notably, miR-181a-5p, ANRIL and CCNG1 were found to have targeting relationships. In conclusion, the findings of the present study suggested that knocking down the expression of ANRIL inhibited cellular proliferation, and promoted apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, its downstream target, miR-181a-5p, inhibited the proliferation of drug-resistant cells and enhanced their sensitivity to DDP.