Background: Over-expression of long non-coding RNA HOTAIR has been reported in several types of cancer. Yet its involvement in gastric cancer (GC) has not been well understood. The aim of present study was to examine the expression pattern of HOTAIR in GC patients, then, explore its role in promoting cancer invasion and underlying molecular mechanism. Methods: The expression level of HOTAIR in the tumor specimens of GC patients was quantified by Realtime RT-PCR. The correlation between HOTAIR level and clinicopathological factors as well as prognosis was then examined. Down-regulation of HOTAIR by RNA interference was applied to investigate its roles in tumor invasiveness via the view of Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Results: The expression level of HOTAIR in cancer tissues was higher than that in adjacent noncancerous tissues. Expression level of HOTAIR was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis and TNM stage. Furthermore, high expression level of HOTAIR was a predictor of poor over-all survival in GC patients. In vitro, inhibition of HOTAIR in GC cells could reduce invasiveness, as well as the expression of MMP1 and MMP3. In addition, suppression of HOTAIR could reverse EMT process. Conclusions: HOTAIR could act as a potential predictor for over-all survival in patients with GC. Inhibition of HOTAIR could reduce invasiveness and reverse EMT process in GC cells, indicating the potential role of HOTAIR in GC diagnostics and therapeutics.

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