Long noncoding RNA LINC00899 suppresses breast cancer progression by inhibiting miR-425

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as important regulators in cancer, including breast cancer. The precise expression pattern of long noncoding RNA 00899 (LINC00899) in breast cancer and its mechanisms of action have not been reported. Here, we found that LINC00899 is downregulated in breast cancer tissues and cell lines. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that elevated LINC00899 expression is closely associated with better relapse-free survival (RFS) in breast cancer, including the basal, luminal A or luminal B breast cancer subtypes. Gene Ontology terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis suggested that LINC00899 is closely related to several cancer associated processes, including tight junction- and metabolism-associated pathways. Functional assays indicated that LINC00899 overexpression suppresses proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells in vitro. Moreover, LINC00899 was found to competitively bind miR-425, thereby functioning as a tumor suppressor by enhancing DICER1. Overexpression of miR-425 attenuated the LINC00899-induced inhibition of breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion. These findings highlight the important role of the LINC00899-miR-425-DICER1 axis in breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion, and could potentially lead to new lncRNA-based diagnostics or therapeutics for breast cancer.