Long Non-coding RNA UCA1 Regulates SRPK1 Expression Through miR- 99b-3p in Ovarian Cancer

Background: Ovarian carcinoma (OC) is one of the most common malignancies of the female reproductive organs, with a low survival rate primarily due to the lack of effective methods for early diagnosis and prognosis. Objective: In this article, our motivation is to explore the lncRNA-related network mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of OC. Methods: Public lncRNAs and mRNA expression datasets for OC were collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. By integrated bioinformatics analysis, we constructed a UCA1-miRNA-mRNA network. We studied lncRNA-related molecular modulation mechanism in ovarian cancer cells based on MTT assay, dual luciferase reporter gene assays, quantitative realtime PCR, and western blotting. Results: UCA1 was higher in ovarian tumor tissues and cells than normal tissues and cells. It was demonstrated in this study that knockdown of UCA1 inhibited ovarian cancer cell viability, which a miR-99b-3p inhibitor could reverse in vitro. Further, UCA1 was shown to regulate the expression of SRPK1 by directly binding to miR-99b-3p. Conclusions: These results suggest that UCA1 functions as an oncogene in ovarian cancer. Inhibition of UCA1/miR-99b-3p/SRPK1 axis may become a novel target for treating ovarian cancer.