LncRNA DDX11-AS1 promotes breast cancer progression via targeting the miR-30c-5p/MTDH axis

Abstract

Introduction Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) serve a significant role in the occurrence and development of malignant tumors. However, the roles of lncRNAs in breast cancer (BC) remain largely unknown. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the effect of lncRNA DDX11-AS1 on BC progression. Methods Bioinformatics analysis using public microarray revealed that DDX11-AS1 was upregulated in BC. In addition, the effect of DDX11-AS1 on the prognosis of patients with BC was evaluated by clinical data analysis. Furthermore, the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of BC cells were assessed in vitro in the MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR3 BC cell lines. Luciferase reporter assay was carried out to unveil the association between DDX11-AS1, microRNA (miR)-30c-5p and metadherin (MTDH). Results DDX11-AS1 was significantly upregulated in BC tissues and cells. Additionally, bioinformatics analysis revealed that the expression levels of DDX11-AS1 were increased with enhanced pathological grading and lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, DDX11-AS1 knockdown markedly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of BC cells. Mechanistically, DDX11-AS1 could prevent the degradation of MTDH in BC via competitively binding with miR-30c-5p, which could act as a tumor promoter factor. Conclusion Collectively, the above results suggested that the DDX11-AS1/miR-30c-5p/MTDH axis could be associated with the progression of BC and DDX11-AS1 could be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for BC.