Long non-coding RNA SNHG6 promotes tumorigenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by competitively binding to miR-944 with RGS17

Abstract Background Previous studies have shown that many long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, the regulatory mechanism of lncRNA SNHG6 remains unknown. Therefore, this study was design to preliminarily elucidate the role of SNHG6 in NPC. Methods The mRNA expression was detected by RT-qPCR. CCK-8, Transwell and dual luciferase reporter assays were used to investigate the function of SNHG6 in NPC. Results Upregulation of SNHG6 and downregulation of miR-944 were identified in NPC and were associated with TNM stage and distant metastasis in NPC patients. Additionally, SNHG6 acts as a molecular sponge of miR-944. More importantly, SNHG6 promoted NPC cell proliferation, migration and invasion by downregulating miR-944. Further, RGS17 was confirmed to be a direct target of miR-944. MiR-944 restrained NPC progression by targeting RGS17. Besides that, knockdown of RGS17 was found to block NPC progression. Upregulation of SNHG6 weakened the suppressive effect of RGS17 knockdown in NPC. Conclusion LncRNA SNHG6 promotes tumorigenesis of NPC by competitively binding to miR-944 with RGS17.