Long non-coding RNA SLC2A1-AS1 induced by GLI3 promotes aerobic glycolysis and progression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by sponging miR-378a-3p to enhance Glut1 expression

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence demonstrates that lncRNAs play pivotal roles in tumor energy metabolism; however, the detailed mechanisms of lncRNAs in the regulation of tumor glycolysis remain largely unknown. METHODS: The expression of SLC2A1-AS1 was investigated by TCGA, GEO dataset and qRT-PCR. The binding of GLI3 to SLC2A1-AS1 promoter was detected by Luciferase Reporter Assay System and Ago2-RIP assay. FISH was performed to determine the localization of SLC2A1-AS1 in ESCC cells. Double Luciferase Report assay was used to investigate the interaction of miR-378a-3p with SLC2A1-AS1 and Glut1. Gain-of-function and Loss-of-function assay were performed to dissect the function of SLC2A1-AS1/miR-378a-3p/Glut1 axis in ESCC progression in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: We identified a novel lncRNA SLC2A1-AS1 in ESCC. SLC2A1-AS1 was frequently overexpressed in ESCC tissues and cells, and its overexpression was associated with TNM stage, lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis of ESCC patients. Importantly, GLI3 and SLC2A1-AS1 formed a regulatory feedback loop in ESCC cells. SLC2A1-AS1 promoted cell growth in vitro and in vivo, migration and invasion, and suppressed apoptosis, leading to EMT progression and increased glycolysis in ESCC cells. SLC2A1-AS1 functioned as ceRNA for sponging miR-378a-3p, resulting in Glut1 overexpression in ESCC cells. MiR-378a-3p inhibited cell proliferation and invasion as well as induced apoptosis, resulting in reduced glycolysis, which was partly reversed by SLC2A1-AS1 or Glut1 overexpression in ESCC cells. CONCLUSION: SLC2A1-AS1 plays important roles in ESCC development and progression by regulating glycolysis, and SLC2A1-AS1/miR-378a-3p/Glut1 regulatory axis may be a novel therapeutic target in terms of metabolic remodeling of ESCC patients. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13046-021-02081-8.