LINC00885 promotes cervical cancer progression through sponging miR-3150b-3p and upregulating BAZ2A

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most common malignancies affecting female worldwide. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are increasingly indicated as crucial participants and promising therapeutic targets in human cancers. The main objective of this study was to explore the functions and mechanism of LINC00885 in CC. METHODS: RT-qPCR and western blot were used to detect RNA and protein levels. Functional and mechanism assays were respectively done for the analysis of cell behaviors and molecular interplays. RESULTS: Long intergenic non-coding RNA 885 (LINC00885) was discovered to be upregulated in CC tissues and cell lines through bioinformatics analysis and RT-qPCR. Overexpression of LINC00885 promoted proliferation and inhibited apoptosis, whereas its silence exerted opposite effects. The cytoplasmic localization of LINC00885 was ascertained and furthermore, LINC00885 competitively bound with miR-3150b-3p to upregulate BAZ2A expression in CC cells. Rescue assays confirmed that LINC00885 regulated CC proliferation and apoptosis through miR-3150b-3p/BAZ2A axis. Finally, we confirmed that LINC00885 aggravated tumor growth through animal experiments. CONCLUSIONS: LINC00885 exerted oncogenic function in CC via regulating miR-3150b-3p/BAZ2A axis. These findings suggested LINC00885 might serve as a potential promising therapeutic target for CC patients. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13062-021-00314-6.