BACKGROUND: Human gastric cancer (GC) is a leading primary cause of cancer-associated deaths in both males and females worldwide. However, there are few effective diagnostic and therapeutic measures for GC patients due to the complicated underlying mechanisms of GC. Recently, increasing research has indicated that lncRNAs may play a critical role in the progression of GC.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: AI769947, AK054978, DB077273, BG981369, AK054588, and AF131784 expressions were analyzed by qRT-PCR assay in GC tissues and corresponding normal tissues (n=44). BG981369 expression was detected by qRT-PCR assay in GC cells. BG981369 was overexpressed and silenced in AGS and SNU-5 cells. The proliferation ability was detected by MTT and colony formation assays. Cell cycle distribution and cell apoptosis rate were analyzed by flow cytometry. The migration and invasion abilities were measured by Transwell assay. In addition, SOX4 expression was analyzed by qRT-PCR in GC tissues. The correlation between SOX4 and BG981369 was analyzed by Pearson analysis.

RESULTS: The results indicated that lncRNA BG981369 was significantly higher in GC tissues than in normal tissues. Overexpression of BG981369 inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion and promoted apoptosis of gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) cells, and silencing of BG981369 promoted proliferation, migration, and invasion, and inhibited cell apoptosis of SNU-5 cells. Furthermore, we found that SOX4 may act as a downstream mediator of BG981369, suggesting that BG981369 inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion, and promotes apoptosis by targeting SOX4 in the GC cell lines.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that BG981369 and SOX4 are potentially effective therapeutic targets for GC.

Keywords: SOXC Transcription Factors