Long non-coding RNA GACAT1promotes proliferation and invasion of gastric cancercells by targeting miR-378

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of non-coding RNA, is a new group of RNAs which is closely related to cancer tumorigenesis. It is suggested to be ideal candidate biomarker with potential diagnostic and therapeutic implications. However, there is little known about the function and mechanism of lncRNA-GACAT1 in human gastric cancer (GC). In the present study, qRT-PCR was performed to detect the expression of GACAT1 and miR-378 in GC tissues and GC cells. Luciferase reporter gene assay identified the regulation of GACAT1 on miR-378. MTT and colony formation assays were used to detect the effect of GACAT1 on the proliferation ability of GC cells. Transwell assay was performed to analyze the migration and invasion abilities of GC cells. Our results revealed that GACAT1 was highly expressed, and miR-378 was lowly expressed in GC tissues and cells. GACAT1 expression was negatively correlated with miR-378 expression in GC tissues. In addition, we found that GACAT1 directly regulated miR-378 in GC cells negatively. The effects of GACAT1 overexpression on the promotion of GC cell proliferation and invasion could be inhibited by miR-378. Therefore, our study demonstrated that GACAT1 promoted the progression of GC via miR-378, and could be a potential therapeutic target for treatment of GC.