Knockdown of the lncRNA SNHG8 inhibits cell growth in Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric carcinoma

Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is causatively associated with a variety of human cancers, including gastric cancer (GC), which has one of the highest mortality rates of all human cancers. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) show important regulatory roles in human GC. SNHG8 is a recently identified lncRNA that was reported to show abnormal expression pattern in GC. However, little is known of its biological function in EBV-associated GC. Methods: We used cell viability, colony formation and cell cycle assays to investigate the roles of lncRNA SNHG8 in the cell growth of EBV-associated GC. Results: The transcript levels of SNHG8 in the cultured EBV-associated GC cells were significantly higher in the cultured EBV-associated GC cells compared with the levels in normal human gastric mucosal cells and EBV-negative GC cells. Knockdown of SNHG8 with specific shRNAs inhibited cell proliferation and colony formation and arrested the cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase in vitro. We also found that knockdown of SNHG8 suppressed tumor growth in vivo. Conclusions: These data indicate the pro-oncogenic potential of SNHG8 in sEBV-associated GC, meaning it is a latent therapeutic target for the treatment of this type of cancer.