Liver-specific LINC01146, a promising prognostic indicator, inhibits the malignant phenotype of hepatocellular carcinoma cells both in vitro and in vivo

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to investigate the function of LINC01146 in HCC. METHODS: The expression of LINC01146 in HCC tissues was explored via The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases and was verified using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR) in our HCC cohort. Kaplan–Meier analysis was used to assess the relationship between LINC01146 and the prognosis of HCC patients. Cell Counting Kit 8, colony formation assays, Transwell assays, flow cytometric assays, and tumour formation models in nude mice were conducted to reveal the effects of LINC01146 on HCC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Bioinformatic methods were used to explore the possible potential pathways of LINC01146 in HCC. RESULTS: LINC01146 was significantly decreased in HCC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues and was found to be related to the clinical presentations of malignancy and the poor prognosis of HCC patients. Overexpression of LINC01146 inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells in vitro, while promoting their apoptosis. In contrast, downregulation of LINC01146 exerted the opposite effects on HCC cells in vitro. In addition, overexpression of LINC01146 significantly inhibited tumour growth, while downregulation of LINC01146 promoted tumour growth in vivo. Furthermore, the coexpressed genes of LINC01146 were mainly involved in the “metabolic pathway” and “complement and coagulation cascade pathway”. CONCLUSION: LINC01146 expression was found to be decreased in HCC tissues and associated with the prognosis of HCC patients. It may serve as a cancer suppressor and prognostic biomarker in HCC. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-021-03225-2.