LncRNA CASC11 promotes cancer cell proliferation in hepatocellular carcinoma by inhibiting microRNA-188-5p.

It is known that lncRNA CASC11 promotes the development of gastric cancer. Our study was carried out to investigate the possible involvement of ncRNA CASC11 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the present study we found that CASC11 was upregulated, while microRNA-188-5p (miR-188-5p) was downregulated in tumor tissues of HCC patients. CASC11 and miR-188-5p were not affected by HBV and HCV infections. Follow-up study showed that high levels of CASC11 were significantly correlated with poor survival. Expression levels of CASC11 and miR-188-5p were inversely correlated in tumor tissues. CASC11 overexpression mediated the downregulation of miR-188-5p, while miR-188-5p overexpression failed to affect CASC11 expression.CASC11 overexpression led to promoted, while miR-188-5p overexpression led to inhibited proliferation of cells of HCC cell lines. CASC11 overexpression showed no significant effects on cancer cell migration and invasion. In addition, miR-188-5p overexpression attenuated the enhancing effects of CASC11 overexpression on cancer cell proliferation. Therefore, LncRNA CASC11 promoted cancer cell proliferation in HCC possibly by inhibiting miR-188-5p.