Long noncoding RNA promotes proliferation and invasion by targeting miR-141 in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Background: The long noncoding RNA X-inactive specific transcript () was reported to play vital roles in tumor progression. In the present study, we determined the regulatory function of in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).

Materials And Methods: expression was determined in PTC tissues and cell lines by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (qRT-PCR). Cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion were measured using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, wound-healing assay, and transwell invasion assay, respectively. Western blotting was used to determine protein expression. The downstream target miRNAs for were identified by luciferase reporter assay and qRT-PCR.

Results: Relative expression of was upregulated in PTC tissues and cell lines. High expression was positively correlated with TNM stage and lymph node metastasis. Function assay demonstrated that knockdown of significantly decreased cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in PTC cells. Moreover, we showed that the effects of on PTC cell progression were mediated by miR-141.

Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that functioned as an oncogene in PTC progression by regulating miR-141, suggesting that might be a promising therapeutic target for PTC treatment.