LINC-PINTsuppresses tumour cell proliferation, migration and invasion through targetingmiR-374a-5p in ovarian cancer

LncRNALINC-PINTacts as an important regulator in the development of many cancers. The current study aimed to explore the role ofLINC-PINTin the progression of ovarian cancer (OC).LINC-PINTexpression level in different FIGO stages of OC and its adjacent tissues, normal HOSE and OC cell lines (A2780, SKOV3, OVCAR3 and HO-8910) was determined by qRT-PCR. Survival analysis onLINC-PINTand OC patients was conducted by Kaplan-Meier. CCK-8, flow cytometry, wound-healing, Transwell assays and western blot were performed to detect the effects ofLINC-PINTon proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion and EMT process in OC cells. Target gene ofLINC-PINTwas predicted by Starbase and verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. The expression of miR-374a-5p in normal and OC tissues,LINC-PINT- or siLINC-PINT-modified OC cells was determined. Moreover, rescue assay was carried out to confirm whetherLINC-PINTcontributes to the development of OC cells through targeting miR-374a-5p. Low expression ofLINC-PINTwas observed in OC tissues and cells, noticeably,LINC-PINTexpression was even lower in OC tissues with higher FIGO stage. IncreasedLINC-PINTexpression significantly inhibited cell proliferation, promoted apoptosis and suppressed migration, invasion and EMT process, while silencing ofLINC-PINTcaused the opposite results. Moreover,LINC-PINTsponged miR-374a-5p and overexpressed miR-374a-5p attenuated the effect of up-regulatedLINC-PINTon cell viability, migration, invasion and apoptosis.LINC-PINTacts as a tumour suppressor, as it could inhibit cell proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT process, and promote cell apoptosis through down-regulating miR-374a-5p. Significance of the study Ovarian cancer (OC), which is a frequently diagnosed tumour in female reproductive organs, has a high incidence rate behind cervical cancer and endometrial cancer. LncRNALINC-PINTacts as an important regulator in the development of many cancers. The current study aimed to explore the role ofLINC-PINTin the progression of ovarian cancer (OC) and found thatLINC-PINTinhibited cell proliferation, migration invasion and EMT process of OC cell via regulating miR-374a-5p; it might be a potential target for OC treatment.