Long non-coding RNA PCAT-1 over-expression promotes proliferation and metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer cells

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as major players in governing fundamental biological processes, and play a functional role in tumorigenesis. Prostate cancer-associated transcript1 (PCAT-1) is a novel lncRNA that promotes cell proliferation in prostate cancer. However, the role of PCAT-1 on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. In the present study, we firstly investigated PCAT-1 expression in NSCLC tissues and cell lines by using quantitative real-time PCR (QRT-PCR). Our results indicated that PCAT-1 was increased in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. PCAT-1 suppression using PCAT-1 small hairpin RNA (shRNA) with A549 cells inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion, while over-expression of PCAT-1 by synthetic plasmid vectors was shown to promote cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Our data suggested that PCAT-1 could play an oncogenic role in NSCLC progression. Silencing PCAT-1 is a potential novel therapeutic approach for lung cancer.