Background: The dysregulation of long non-coding RNAs is a frequent finding in glioblastoma (GBM) and is considered as a crucial mechanism contributing to GBM oncogenesis and progression. The biological roles and underlying mechanisms of action of UBA6 antisense RNA 1 (UBA6-AS1) in GBM have been rarely investigated. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate in detail the role of UBA6-AS1 in the modulation of the malignant properties of GBM and explore the possible underlying mechanism(s).
Methods: The expression of UBA6-AS1 in GBM was determined via reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, flow cytometric analysis, Transwell migration and invasion assays, and in vivo tumorigenicity assay were applied to elucidate the biological effects of UBA6-AS1 on GBM cells. The possible biological events associated with UBA6-AS1 were investigated by luciferase reporter, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and rescue assays.
Results: UBA6-AS1 was overexpressed in GBM, which was consistent with the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. In the case of UBA6-AS1 depletion, GBM cell proliferation, migration and invasion were notably decreased and cell apoptosis was enhanced in vitro. Additionally, knockdown of UBA6-AS1 suppressed the proliferation of GBM cells in vivo. Mechanistically, UBA6-AS1 functioned as a competing endogenous RNA by adsorbing miR-760 and, consequently, upregulating homeobox A2 (HOXA2) expression. Rescue experiments demonstrated that the UBA6-AS1 silencing-mediated regulatory effects on GBM cells were reversed by the decrease of miR-760 or restoration of HOXA2 expression.
Conclusion: Therefore, the results of the present study revealed that UBA6-AS1 promoted the malignant progression of GBM via targeting the miR-760/HOXA2 axis, thereby representing a promising effective target for the treatment of GBM.
Keywords: UBA6 antisense RNA 1, long non-coding RNA, homeobox A2, glioblastoma