Long non-coding RNA taurine up regulated 1 promotes osteosarcoma cell proliferation and invasion through upregulating Ezrin expression as a competing endogenous RNA of micro RNA-377-3p

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant tumor of bone mainly occurring in children and young people, which has a high rate of recurrence and metastasis. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have capabilities in regulating target gene expression in various tumors served as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) to sponge microRNAs (miRNAs). In addition, Ezrin (EZR) is a member of ERM (ezrin/Radixin/moesin) protein family that contributes to the progression of multiple tumors. Previous studies have correlated lncRNA taurine upregulated 1 (TUG1) or Ezrin with OS. However, the correlation between lncRNA TUG1 and Ezrin in OS remains unclear. The expressions of lncRNA TUG1 and Ezrin were upregulated in OS tissues and cells determined by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot (WB), respectively. In addition, both lncRNA TUG1 and Ezrin promoted OS cell proliferation identified by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and clone formation assay, and enhanced OS cell invasion detected using Transwell assay for cell invasion. Moreover, lncRNA TUG1 upregulated Ezrin expression through sponging miR-377-3p determined by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay and WB. In conclusion, our work revealed that lncRNA TUG1 promoted OS cell proliferation and invasion through upregulating Ezrin expression as a ceRNA of miR-377-3p, which might provide novel therapeutic targets for OS therapy.