Long non-coding RNA PVT1 promotes glycolysis and tumor progression by regulating miR-497/HK2 axis in osteosarcoma

Cancer cells usually utilize glucose as a carbon source for aerobic glycolysis, a phenomenon known as the Warburg effect. Increasing studies have shown that PVT1 (a long non-coding RNA, lncRNA) functions as critical regulator of multiple cancers. However, it remains totally unknown whether and how PVT1 regulates glucose metabolism in OS cells. In this study, we found that the expression of PVT1 were specifically increased in OS cells and tissues, and the upregulated PVT1 indicated poor prognosis. Glucose uptake, lactate production, and the expression of HK2 in OS cells were increased by overexpression of PVT1, while decreased by PVT1 knockdown. We further fund that PVT1 acted as molecular sponge to repress miR-497. Inhibition of miR-497 promoted glucose consumption and lactate production, phenomenon could be reversed by PVT1 silencing. Moreover, HK2 was a direct target of miR-497 and overexpression of HK2 attenuated the suppressive effect of miR-497 on glycolysis. Functionally, knockdown of PVT1 exerted tumor-suppressive effect by suppressing cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, and invasion in vitro, whereas miR-497 inhibitor partially abolished the inhibition effect of si-PVT1. Overexpression of HK2 attenuated the miR-497 induced inhibition of cell growth and motility. Taken together, these findings suggested that PVT1 contributes to OS cell glucose metabolism, cell proliferation, and motility through the miR-497/HK2 pathway, and revealed a novel relation between lncRNA and the alteration of glycolysis in OS cells.