A newly identified lncRNA H1FX-AS1 targets DACT1 to inhibit cervical cancer via sponging miR-324-3p.

Background: Cervical cancer (CC) is the 4th most common cancer-related death in gynecological cancer worldwide. It has been reported that many lncRNAs contribute to oncogenesis although the fundamental mechanisms are basically unknown. Here, we aimed to identify a novel lncRNA H1FX-AS1 and explore a ceRNA network in CC oncogenesis and progression.

Methods: The expression level and the association with the prognosis of H1FX-AS1 in CC patients were analyzed based on Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets, and further verified in 50 CC patients. The biological role of H1FX-AS1 was investigated in vitro and in vivo by over-expression of H1FX-AS1 in CC cells; the potential binding sites between H1FX-AS1 and miRNA, between miR-324-3p and DACT1 were predicted by LncBASE and Targetscan respectively, which were further verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay, RNA pull-down and point mutation; the relationship between genes was analyzed by Pearson correlation; the rescue experiments were used to further explore the involved molecular mechanism.

Results: Lower H1FX-AS1 expression in CC tissues was found to be associated with the poor prognosis of CC patients. Over-expression of H1FX-AS1 inhibited CC cell proliferation, migration and invasion, while induced apoptosis by sponging miR-324-3p to up-regulate the DACT1 expression level.

Conclusion: A novel lncRNA H1FX-AS1 was identified, which acted as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) of miR-324-3p to inhibit DACT1 mediated CC progression. Therefore, H1FX-AS1 is a new prognostic predictor and targeting the factors in the H1FX-AS1/miR-324-3p/DACT1 axis is the novel potential therapeutic strategy for CC.