Introduction: LncRNAs have been reported to play critical roles in liver cancer, while its role in other cancers remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of DCST1-AS1 in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC).
Methods: Expression of DCST1-AS1 in CSCC tissues and non-tumor tissues from 68 CSCC patients was determined by RT-qPCR. A 5-year follow-up study was carried out to explore the prognostic value of DCST1-AS1 for CSCC. Overexpression of DCST1-AS1 and miR-107 was achieved in CSCC tissues to explore the interaction between them. The roles of DCST1-AS1, miR-107 and CDK6 in regulating the proliferation and viability of CSCC cells were assessed by cell proliferation and viability assays, respectively.
Results: We found that DCST1-AS1 was upregulated in CSCC and predicted poor survival. RNA interaction prediction showed potential interaction between DCST1-AS1 and miR-107. However, overexpression experiments revealed no significant interaction between them. Moreover, overexpression of DCST1-AS1 led to upregulate CDK6 and increase cell proliferation rate, while overexpression of miR-107 played an opposite role and attenuate the effects of overexpression of DCST1-AS1.
Conclusion: DCST1-AS1 may sponge miR-107 to upregulate CDK6 in CSCC.
Keywords: DCST1-AS1, miR-107, cervical squamous cell carcinoma, CSCC, CDK6, proliferation