Long non-coding RNA DGCR5 incudes tumorigenesis of triple-negative breast cancer by affecting Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one of the most ordinary malignant tumors. Recent studies have revealed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in the progression of tumorigenesis. This study aimed to identify how lncRNA DGCR5 functions in the progression of TNBC. Methods: DGCR5 expression of both 57 paired TNBC patients' tissue samples and cells was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Moreover, the function of SNHG7 was identified by performing proliferation assay and transwell assay in vitro. Besides, the underlying mechanism was explored through Western blot assay and RT-qPCR. In addition, tumor formation and metastasis assays were also conducted in vivo. Results: In this study, DGCR5 expression was obviously higher in TNBC tissues when compared with that in adjacent non-tumor samples. Cell proliferation, migration and invasion in TNBC were inhibited after knockdown of DGCR5 in vitro. Moreover, results of further experiments revealed that the targeted proteins in Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway were downregulated via knockdown of DGCR5 in TNBC. Furthermore, tumor formation and metastasis of TNBC were inhibited via knockdown of DGCR5 in nude mice. Conclusions: Our study suggests that DGCR5 enhances TNBC cell proliferation and metastasis via inducing Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway in vitro and in vivo.