LncRNA HCG11 promotes proliferation and migration in gastric cancer via targeting miR-1276/CTNNB1 and activating Wnt signaling pathway.

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is one common cancer which occurs in the stomach leading to high mortality around the world. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were found overexpressed or silenced in the occurrence and progression of multiple cancers including GC.

Method: The gene expression level in GC tissues and cells were analyzed by RT-qPCR. CCK-8, colony formation, flow cytometry and transwell assays were performed for the function analysis of HLA complex group 11 (HCG11). The mechanism study for HCG11 was conducted using RIP, RNA pull down and luciferase reporter assays.

Results: HCG11 was discovered highly expressed in GC tissues and cells. Depletion experiments were used to evaluate HCG11 silence on cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis. Moreover, Wnt signaling pathway was found as a tumor promoter in GC. RIP assay, RNA pull down assay and luciferase reporter assay were performed to illustrate the relationship of HCG11, miR-1276 and CTNNB1. Rescue assays revealed that HCG11/miR-1276/CTNNB1 axis regulated the incidence and development of GC. Tumor formation in mice proved that HCG11 was negatively correlated with miR-1276 and had positively correlation with CTNNB1.

Conclusion: Overall, HCG11 accelerated proliferation and migration in GC through miR-1276/CTNNB1 and Wnt signaling pathway, revealing that HCG11 could be a brand new target for GC.