Background: Cervical cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies in gynecology with increasing incidence in recent years. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to regulate human cancers including cervical cancer. F-box and leucine-rich repeat protein 19 antisense RNA 1 (FBXL19-AS1 ) have been unmasked to exert carcinogenic functions in several cancers except cervical cancer.
Aim: Present study hammered at investigating the function and mechanism of FBXL19-AS1  in cervical cancer.
Methods: RT-qPCR was utilized to test gene expression. EdU staining, colony formation, transwell, flow cytometry and TUNEL assays were applied for measuring the impact of FBXL19-AS1  on cervical cancer cell functions. Moreover, RIP, RNA pull-down and luciferase reporter assays were utilized for detecting the correlations among FBXL19-AS1 , miR-193a-5p  and PIN1  (peptidylprolyl cis/trans isomerase, NIMA-interacting 1).
Results: FBXL19-AS1  exhibited elevated expression in cervical cancer tissues and cells. Silencing FBXL19-AS1  repressed cell proliferation through arresting cell cycle and stimulating apoptosis, and losing FBXL19-AS1  also restrained cell migration and invasion. Also, we discovered FBXL19-AS1  as a miR-193a-5p  sponge, while miR-193a-5p  was a tumor inhibitor in cervical cancer. Further, PIN1  was proved as the miR-193a-5p  target, and FBXL19-AS1  augmented PIN1  expression in cervical cancer via sequestering miR-193a-5p . Of note, PIN1  accelerated the progression of cervical cancer, and its upregulation counteracted the impacts of depleted FBXL19-AS1  on cervical cancer cell functions.
Conclusion: FBXL19-AS1  contributes to malignant phenotypes in cervical cancer by sponging miR-193a-5p  and regulating PIN1 .
Keywords: FBXL19-AS1 , miR-193a-5p , PIN1 , cervical cancer