LncRNA UCA1 impacts cell proliferation, invasion, and migration of pancreatic cancer through regulating miR-96/FOXO3.

This study was expected to reveal the regulatory effects of lncRNA UCA1 on pancreatic cancer cell progression through targeting miR-96/FOXO3. Microarray analysis was carried out on 36 cases of pancreatic cancer tissues and 16 cases of adjacent tissues among them. Expression levels of lncRNA UCA1, miR-96, and FOXO3 in pancreatic cancer tissues and cell lines were determined by qRT-PCR. Expression levels of FOXO3 protein were determined by western blot. Cell viability, cell cycle and apoptosis, cell invasion and migration were detected by CCK-8, flow cytometry, and transwell assay, respectively. The colocalization relationship between lncRNA UCA1 and miR-96 was detected by RNA FISH. Whether UCA1 could target miR-96 and whether miR-96 could target FOXO3 3'UTR were verified by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. High expression of lncRNA UCA1 and FOXO3 and low expression of miR-96 were shown in pancreatic cancer. Inhibition of UCA1 suppressed pancreatic tumor cell proliferation, colony formation, and metastasis, while inhibition of miR-96 promoted pancreatic cancer cell progression. FOXO3 was the downstream target gene of miR-96 and showed the opposite effects. LncRNA UCA1 promoted cell proliferation, invasion, migration and inhibited cell apoptosis of pancreatic cancer through down-regulating miR-96 and up-regulating FOXO3.