LncRNA NKILA inhibits invasion and migration of osteosarcoma cells via NF-κB/Snail signaling pathway

Our research explored the possible biological function of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) NKILA in the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma and its underlying mechanism.

NKILA expression in 60 cases of osteosarcoma and adjacent tissues was detected. The correlation between NKILA expression and clinical information was analyzed by Chi-square test. The overexpression plasmid or siRNA of NKILA were transfected into osteosarcoma cells by liposome. Cell proliferation was detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Transwell assay was used to check the migratory and invasive abilities. Western Blot was used to detect the expressions of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)-related proteins. In addition, we analyzed the cell invasion and migration after treatment of NF-κB inhibitor (JSH) to further verify whether NKILA can participate in the occurrence of osteosarcoma through the NF-κB / Snail signaling pathway.

The expression level of NKILA in osteosarcoma tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent tissues, and was related to tumor size, Enneking stage, and metastasis. After KNKS/NP cells were transfected with NKILA-siRNA, cell proliferation, invasion and migration were enhanced. Transfection of the NKILA overexpression plasmid in Saos2 cells reduced cell proliferation, invasion and migration. NKILA knockdown downregulated the expressions of p65 and E-cadherin, but strikingly increased Snail expression. The RNA binding protein co-immunoprecipitation experiments illustrated that p65 could bind to NKILA. Additionally, JSH was found to reverse the inhibitory effect of NKILA on cell migration and proliferation.

NKILA was lowly expressed in osteosarcoma tissues. In addition, high expression of NKILA could suppress the migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells by inhibiting the NF-κB/Snail signaling pathway.