LncRNA WDFY3-AS2 suppresses proliferation and invasion in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma by regulating miR-23555p/SOCS2 axis

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) widely participate in ESCC development and progression; however, the prognostic factors and therapeutic strategies implicated in ESCC development and progression remain to be under investigation. The purpose of the current study was to explore whether WDFY3-AS2 may be a potential prognostic factor and investigate its biological functions in ESCC. Here, WDFY3-AS2 was frequently down-regulated in ESCC tissues and cells, and its expression was correlated with TNM stage, lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis of ESCC patients. Moreover, WDFY3-AS2 down-regulation significantly promoted cell proliferation and invasion, whereas WDFY3-AS2 up-regulation markedly suppressed cell proliferation and invasion in ESCC EC9706 and TE1 cells, coupled with EMT phenotype alterations. WDFY3-AS2 functioned as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for sponging miR2355-5p, further resulted in the up-regulation of its target gene SOCS2, followed by suppression of JAK2/Stat5 signalling pathway, to suppress ESCC cell proliferation and invasion in EC9706 and TE1 cells. These findings suggest that WDFY3-AS2 may participate in ESCC development and progression, and may be a novel prognostic factor for ESCC patients, and thus targeting WDFY3-AS2/miR-2355-5p/SOCS2 signalling axis may be a novel therapeutic strategy for ESCC patients.