The lncRNA HOXA11-AS regulates Rab3D expression by sponging miR-125a-5p promoting metastasis of osteosarcoma

Kun Cao,1 Yueyang Fang,1 Hao Wang,1 Zheng Jiang,1 Li Guo,2 Yong Hu11Department of Orthopaedics, The First Hospital Of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Orthopaedics, The Second Hospital Of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of ChinaObjective: Many studies have shown that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are closely related to various cancers. This study aims to explore the roles of lncRNA HOXA11-AS in the development and progression of osteosarcoma (OS).Methods: The expression levels of HOXA11-AS and miR-125a-5p in tumor tissues and the adjacent tissues were detected by RT-PCR method. The proliferation, migration and invasion of MG-63 and KHOS cells were determined.Results: It was found that HOXA11-AS expression levels in OS tissues and OS cell lines were higher than those in OS adjacent tissues and normal human osteoblast cell lines. The higher expression level of HOXA11-AS was positively correlated with more severe clinical stage, distant metastasis and poor prognosis of OS. Inhibition of HOXA11-AS expression could reduce metastasis and invasion of OS cell lines. In addition, HOXA11-AS was found to be an endogenous inhibitor of miR-125a-5p, it down regulated the expression level of miR-125a-5p, and this process could promote the expression of Rab3D, the target gene of miR-125a-5p.Conclusion: Our study elucidated the role of a new HOXA11-AS/miR-125a-5p/Rab3D regulatory pathway in promoting OS metastasis.Keywords: osteosarcoma (OS), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), HOXA11-AS, miR-125a-5p, Rab3D