EPEL promotes the migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells by upregulating ROCK1.

E2F-mediated cell proliferation enhancing long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) (EPEL) is a newly identified lncRNA involved in the regulation of lung cancer cell proliferation. However, its association with other types of cancer is unknown. The present study recruited patients with osteosarcoma and healthy controls. Tumor and adjacent healthy tissues were obtained from patients with osteosarcoma, and whole blood was extracted from patients and healthy controls. The expression levels of EPEL in tissues were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The diagnostic value of serum EPEL for osteosarcoma was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The association between serum levels of EPEL and basic clinical patient information was analyzed by χ test. Subsequently, EPEL overexpression in osteosarcoma cell lines was established, and its effects on cell migration and invasion were explored by Transwell assay. The implications of EPEL overexpression on Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1 (ROCK1) expression were investigated by western blotting. The results revealed that EPEL was upregulated in tumor tissues compared with adjacent tissues. In addition, serum levels of EPEL were higher in patients with osteosarcoma compared with healthy controls, and were positively associated with distant tumor metastasis. Furthermore, EPEL overexpression promoted the migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells and induced overexpression of ROCK1. In conclusion, these results suggested that EPEL may promote the migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells by upregulating ROCK1.