Overexpression of lncRNA DANCR positively affects progression of glioma via activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

Long non-coding RNA DANCR has been certified to act as an effective regulator in the tumorigenesis of several types of tumors. In this study, the special role of DANCR in glioma progression was explored. It was speculated that high expression of DANCR in glioma tissues and cells might be an oncogenic factor. To understand the correlation between the expression pattern of DANCR and the overall survival of glioma patients, the Kaplan Meier method was used for analysis. The result showed that high expression of DANCR might be a poor prognostic factor in glioma patients. The effects of DANCR expression on proliferation and migration of glioma cells were detected through performing MTT assay, colony formation assay and transwell assays. Results of loss-of function assay suggested that downregulated DANCR could inhibited glioma cell proliferation and migration. Additionally, western blot assay was conducted in glioma cells to demonstrate that the protein levels of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway related proteins was negatively modulated by si-DANCR. Finally, and the increased proliferation and migration of glioma cells were observed after the Wnt/β-catenin signals were activated. However, this tendency was reduced by si-DANCR. In conclusion, DANCR positively affected glioma progression via activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.