Long noncoding RNA OIP5-AS1 acts as a competing endogenous RNA to promote glutamine catabolism and malignant melanoma growth by sponging miR-217.

The long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) OIP5-AS1 has been considered to promote the growth and metastasis of many human tumors. However, the role of OIP5-AS1 in melanoma has not been reported. In this study, we found that OIP5-AS1 levels were significantly elevated in melanoma tissue and that high OIP5-AS1 expression was an independent risk factor for the poor survival of patients with melanoma. miR-217 suppressed glutamine catabolism in melanoma cells by targeting glutaminase (GLS), the rate-limiting enzyme of glutamine catabolism. We also demonstrated that OIP5-AS1 acted as a sponge of miR-217 to upregulate GLS expression, thus promoting glutamine catabolism and melanoma growth. Overall, this result elucidates a new mechanism for OIP5-AS1 in metabolism in melanoma and provides a potential therapeutic target for patients with melanoma.