LncRNA PCAT-1 promotes the progression of osteosarcoma via miR-508-3p/ZEB1 axis

OBJECTIVE: Osteosarcoma (OS) is an adolescent idiopathic malignancy with a poor prognosis. Accumulating evidence has verified that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were implicated in the initiation and development of various tumors. We aimed to clarify the functions and underlying mechanism of lncRNA PCAT-1 in OS progression. PATIENTS AND METHODS: RT-qPCR was performed to examine the relative expressions of PCAT-1, miR-508-3p and ZEB1 in OS tissues or cells. The proliferation capacities of OS cells with different transfection were detected by CCK-8 assays. Transwell assays were carried out to determine the functions of PCAT-1 and miR-508-3p in OS cell migration and invasion. Moreover, bioinformatical analysis and Luciferase reporter assay were applied to verify the association between PCAT-1 and miR-508-3p, miR-508-3p and ZEB1. RESULTS: Data of current study revealed that PCAT-1 was markedly upregulated in OS, which indicated poor prognosis of OS patients. CCK-8 and transwell assays indicated that PCAT-1 upregulation could promote OS cell proliferation, invasion and migration. Additionally, we found that miR-508-3p was a direct target of PCAT-1, and PCAT-1 regulated the development of OS via decreasing miR-508-3p and activating its target gene ZEB1. CONCLUSIONS: All data demonstrated that PCAT-1 promoted OS progression, and miR-5083p/ZEB1 axis was implicated in the functional roles of PCAT-1 in OS, suggesting that PCAT-1/miR-508-3p/ZEB1 might serve as candidate therapeutic targets for OS patients.