Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the regulatory effects and mechanisms of long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) on gastric cancer (GC) cells. Methods: The expression of MALAT1 was detected in GC tissues and two GC cell lines (SGC-7901 and BGC-823). MALAT1 was overexpressed and silenced in GC cells by the transfection of pcDNA-MALAT1 and siRNA-MALAT1, respectively. The proliferation and apoptosis of transfected cells, as well as the tumor volume and weight in mice injected with transfected cells were determined. After identifying the interaction between microRNA-22-3p (miR-22-3p) and MALAT1/epidermal growth factor receptor 3 (ErbB3), the effects of miR-22-3p/ErbB3 silencing on the proliferation and apoptosis of GC cells were evaluated. Results: MALAT1 was significantly upregulated in GC tissues and cells and negatively associated with the survival of GC patients. Overexpression of MALAT1 significantly promoted the proliferation and inhibited the apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells, while silencing of MALAT1 exerts contrary effects on BGC-823 cells. Silencing of MALAT1 also significantly inhibited the tumor growth in mice. In addition, MALAT1 negatively regulated its target miR-22-3p. Silencing of miR-22-3p reversed the anti-tumor effects of MALAT1 silencing on GC cells. MiR-22-3p negatively regulated its target ErbB3. Silencing of ErbB3 reversed the tumor-promoting effects of miR-22-3p silencing on GC cells. Conclusion: Silencing of MALAT1 inhibited the proliferation and promoted the apoptosis of GC cells through upregulating miR-22-3p and downregulating ErbB3.

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