HOXD-AS1 facilitates cell migration and invasion as an oncogenic lncRNA by competitively binding to miR-877-3p and upregulating FGF2 in human cervical cancer

Background Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) are dysregulated in multiple human cancers and they are highly involved in tumor progression. Previous studies have identified the oncogenic lncRNA HOXD cluster antisense RNA 1 (HOXD-AS1) in human cancers, while its roles in cervical cancer (CC) remain unclear. Herein we intended to characterize the implication of HOXD-AS1 in CC. Methods qRT-PCR was applied to examine the relative expression of HOXD-AS1 in CC tissues, cell lines and transfected cells. Wound healing and transwell assays were applied to detect cell migration and invasion alteration. The targeting relationship between miRNA and mRNA/lncRNA was determined by dual luciferase reporter, qRT-PCR and western blot assays. Results HOXD-AS1 was overexpressed in CC tissues and cell lines. Its higher level predicted worse prognosis of CC patients. SiRNA mediated knockdown of HOXD-AS1 repressed CC cell migration and invasion, and its overexpression did the opposite. Mechanistically, HOXD-AS1 acted as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to sponge miR-877-3p and led to upregulation of FGF2, a target of miR-877-3p. Importantly, either miR-877-3p overexpression or FGF2 inhibition could abolish the migration and invasion promotion induced by HOXD-AS1. Conclusion HOXD-AS1 functions as a tumor-promoting lncRNA via the miR-877-3p/FGF2 axis in CC. HOXD-AS1 might be a promising therapeutic target as well as a novel prognostic biomarker for CC.