LncRNA SNHG1 PROMOTES PROLIFERATION AND INVASION OF CERVICAL CANCER CELLS BY TARGETING miR-377-3p

Objective: This study was aimed to investigate the effect and mechanism of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) SNHG1 on the proliferation and invasion of cervical cancer (CC) cells. Methods: We tested the expression levels of LncRNA SNHG1 and microRNA-377-3p (miR-377-3p) in CC cells (HeLa cells) and normal cervical cells (Ect1/E6E7 cells) with the RT-PCR assay. We established HeLa cell line models with lowly expressed LncRNA SNHG1 or overly expressed miR-377-3p and then measured cell viability, invasion, apoptosis, and concentrations of apoptosis-related proteins with the MTT assay, Transwell assay, flow cytometry (FCM) assay, and the Western Blot (WB) assay. The dual-luciferase reporter (DLR) assay was conducted to verify the regulatory relationship between LncRNA SNHG1 and miR-377-3p. Results: We detected higher LncRNA SNHG1 expression and lower miR-377-3p expression in HeLa cells than in Ect1/E6E7 cells (P < 0.05). Low LncRNA SNHG1 expression or miR-377-3p overexpression inhibited the viability and invasion of HeLa cells, stimulated cell apoptosis, inhibited Bcl-2 expression, and promoted Bax expression (P < 0.05). Conclusion: LncRNA SNHG1 is highly expressed in HeLa cells and regulates miR-377-3p to modulate the growth, invasion, and apoptosis of HeLa cells. It is a potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of CC.