Silencing of long noncoding RNA LINC00958 prevents tumor initiation of pancreatic cancer by acting as a sponge of microRNA-330-5p to down-regulate PAX8.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) represents a relatively rare but severe malignancy worldwide. Accumulated studies have emphasized the potential of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) as therapeutic strategies for several human cancers. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether a novel non-coding RNA regulatory circuitry involved in PC. Aberrantly expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were screened out of microarray database. Following the determination of RNA expression, PANC-1 and BxPC-3 PC cells were adopted, after which the expression of miR-330-5p, PAX8 and LINC00958 were subsequently altered. RNA crosstalk was validated by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. In order to detect whether LINC00958 could act as ceRNA to competitively sponge miR-330-5p and regulate PAX8, subcellular location of LINC00958 and interaction between LINC00958 and miR-330-5p were measured by FISH and RNA pull down respectively. The epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, cell invasion, and tumor growth were determined in vitro and in vivo. LINC00958 and PAX8 were up-regulated, while miR-330-5p was down-regulated during PC. LINC00958 mainly expressed in the cytoplasm and LINC00958 competitively sponged miR-330-5p. Upregulated miR-330-5p or downregulated PAX8 inhibited the EMT process as well as the invasion and metastasis ability of the PC cells. Moreover, the results indicated that miR-330-5p negatively targeted PAX8, and LINC00958 ultimately showcasing its ability to bind to miR-330-5p through its interaction with AGO2. Therefore, silencing of LINC00958 may bind to miR-330-5p to inhibit PAX8 in a competitive fashion, thereby preventing the progression of PC.