LncRNA HANR aggravates the progression of non-small cell lung cancer via mediating miRNA-140-5p.

Objective: The aim of this study was to elucidate the function of long non-coding ribonucleic acids (lncRNAs) HANR in aggravating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progression via targeting microRNA-140-5p (miRNA-140-5p).
Patients and Methods: The relative expression level of HANR in NSCLC tissues and cell lines was determined by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). The correlation between HANR expression and the prognosis of NSCLC was analyzed. The regulatory effects of HANR on cellular behaviors of NSCLC cells were evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), transwell and wound healing assay. Meanwhile, the relative expression of miRNA-140-5p in NSCLC tissues and cell lines was determined by qRT-PCR. In addition, rescue experiments were carried out to evaluate the potential influence of HANR/miRNA-140-5p on the progression of NSCLC.
Results: HANR expression was significantly up-regulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. HANR expression was positively correlated with lymphatic metastasis and distant metastasis of NSCLC patients, whereas it was negatively correlated with the overall survival of NSCLC patients. Knockdown of HANR markedly suppressed the proliferative, migratory and invasive abilities of NSCLC cells. In NSCLC tissues, the miRNA-140-5p level was negatively associated with HANR level. Furthermore, inhibited cellular behaviors of NSCLC cells transfected with sh-HANR were partially reversed after miRNA-140-5p knockdown.
Conclusions: LncRNA HANR accelerates the proliferative, migratory and invasive abilities of NSCLC via negatively mediating miRNA-140-5p. Furthermore, HANR is closely correlated with lymphatic metastasis, distant metastasis and poor prognosis of NSCLC.