YY1-mediated overexpression of long noncoding RNA MCM3AP-AS1 accelerates angiogenesis and progression in lung cancer by targeting miR-340-5p/KPNA4 axis.

Lung cancer is famous as an aggressive malignant tumor and is the main cause of cancer-associated mortality globally. Tumor angiogenesis is a vital part in cancer, which influences cell proliferation and metastasis. Increasing studies have claimed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) were involved in the progression of several cancers. Based on previous studies, this study focused on the role and mechanism of lncRNA MCM3AP antisense RNA 1 (MCM3AP-AS1) in lung cancer. At first, MCM3AP-AS1 expression was found to be elevated in lung cancer cells. Depletion of MCM3AP-AS1 repressed cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis in lung cancer cells. YY1 was confirmed to mediate MCM3AP-AS1 transcription in lung cancer cells. Moreover, the molecular mechanism investigation revealed that MCM3AP-AS1 could sponge miR-340-5p and elevate KPNA4 expression. On the basis of rescue assays, we identified that the overexpression of KPNA4 partly counteracted the suppressed effect of MCM3AP-AS1 knockdown on angiogenesis and progression in lung cancer cells. Conclusively, the YY1-mediated overexpression of MCM3AP-AS1 accelerated angiogenesis and progression in lung cancer by targeting miR-340-5p/KPNA4 axis, which highlighted the possibility of MCM3AP-AS1 as a promising therapeutic target for lung cancer.