The long non-coding RNA NKILA inhibits the invasion-metastasis cascade of malignant melanoma via the regulation of NF-ĸB.

The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) NKILA has been reported to participate in the development of human cancers. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential role of lncRNA-NKILA, which acts through NF-ĸB, in the process of melanoma development. Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) showed that NKILA was expressed at low levels in human melanoma tissues. The area under the ROC curve of NKILA was 0.875, which indicated that NKILA may be a potential diagnostic biomarker of melanoma. Our results also indicated that NKILA inhibited the progression of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and promoted apoptosis of melanoma cells. Furthermore, qRT-PCR showed that NF-κB, which was negatively correlated with NKILA, was highly expressed in human melanoma tissues. Moreover, our results indicated that NKILA inhibited the carcinogenesis of melanoma cells through the inhibition of NF-ĸB in vitro. More importantly, we found that NKILA suppressed the growth of melanoma tumors via NF-ĸB in vivo. In conclusion, NKILA suppressed the development of malignant melanoma via the regulation of NF-ĸB and may be a potential therapeutic target in patients with melanoma.